[Python-Dev] Contributing to Python (original) (raw)

Titus Brown titus at caltech.edu
Fri Jan 4 02:24:24 CET 2008

On Thu, Jan 03, 2008 at 03:24:16PM -0500, Joseph Armbruster wrote: -> Having a "core mentor" would be great but do they really have time for -> that? I've been lucky at finding people in #python / #python-dev) that can -> answer development inquiries (or at least verify something is or is not a -> bug).

Again, IMO as someone on the lunatic fringe of core development (i.e. I'm a happy spectator, but I'm too busy to actually get much done):

Mentoring coders may not be a traditional route for hard-core OSS developers, but it sure can be effective, as I've found with GHOP.

For example, many core Python developers can save an outsider hours of effort by simply and quickly outlining the issues involved in a particular patch or coding effort. Having actual committers involved is especially good, because they can evaluate whether or not a patch is likely to be accepted, potentially cutting out more hours of effort; and they can directly commit patches, leading to the very important gratification of an actual commit.

From another angle, there are a lot of "easy" fixes/patches/updates to be done to Python, but I'll be damned if I can figure out which ones are easy meat, or complex, or likely to touch a nerve. Having someone experienced to quickly give an opinion is invaluable. (I'm an overconfident loudmouth, so I don't mind posting to this list, but I think python-dev is pretty intimidating for people new to the hurly burly of OSS development.)

As I've said in other responses in this thread, I'm not sure how to make it happen, but I'm leaning towards asking the active GHOP mentors to try to extend the GHOP mentoring effort into a general python-love effort. We've got a good group of experienced people, and it's been a pretty friendly list IMO.

cheers, --titus

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