Meta deepens its investment in the Python ecosystem

As the backbone to many Meta Services ranging from Instagram to its AI and data infrastructure, Python is very important to Meta. PyTorch is built on Python, accelerating the path from ML research and prototyping to production within Meta and across the open source ML ecosystem. Cinder is Meta’s performance-oriented version of Python that allows Instagram to run at global scale. Pyre is a performant type-checker used by thousands of Python developers in Meta.

To support the Python ecosystem, we are excited to announce that Meta has made a $300,000 Visionary level sponsorship of the Python Software Foundation (PSF) that will provide critical support to the PSF and fund a second year of the successful Developer-in-Residence program. Meta is also committed to long-term investment in Python’s performance, by upstreaming improvements from Cinder, and making it more broadly available.
 

Developer-in-Residence: The second year

The Developer-in-Residence program was launched in 2021, dedicating a full-time role to CPython. Python is a powerful and popular open-source language, used by millions of people around the world, in applications ranging from basic programming tutorials to literal rocket science. This is made possible by the nature of Open Source. The Developer-in-Residence program was established to provide full-time support to volunteers working on Python, tackling problems that are best solved by a dedicated role.

Łukasz Langa is the inaugural Developer-in-Residence. A seasoned Python core developer and release manager for Python 3.8 and 3.9, in the first year of the program he is using his unique position to make progress on key projects that are impractical to complete with volunteer time, like chipping away at the backlog of pull requests and completing the migration of bugs.python.org to GitHub Issues, as well as mentoring new core developers.

Meta’s funding of a second year of the Developer-in-Residence program allows crucial continuity and stability. Knowing the role is funded for a second year, Łukasz, with direction from the Steering Council and support from the PSF, can take a farther looking view to plan ahead, invest in setting up the foundation for long-term projects, and build on the lessons of the inaugural year. 

"Being able to work full-time on Python is a dream come true for me. I'm humbled and grateful for the opportunity, and now for the ongoing trust by the PSF and Meta. I'm extremely happy I'll be able to do that for yet another year. Having somebody around to do code review full time helps the rest of the team focus on what they do best. With the role extending into 2023, I can start talking about more long-term contribution plans. I can't wait!" - Łukasz Langa

The PSF is thrilled that thanks to Meta’s generosity, we will be able to continue this successful program, which will grow and deepen its impact on the future of CPython and the Python community in the second year.

Foundation sponsorship for the PSF

Meta’s donation will also provide substantial support to the PSF and our core programs, including maintaining and supporting PyPI.org, our grants program reaching Pythonista projects around the world, PyCon US bringing together the Python community, stewardship of Python intellectual property, and foundational infrastructure for hosting the language and new Python releases. 

We are proud to recognize Meta as a Visionary Sponsor of our work, helping to make the full range of our programs and the Python ecosystem sustainable in the long term. The PSF and everything we do would not be possible without the participation of sponsors like Meta. We are deeply grateful for their investment, which is part of building the foundation that will enable the PSF and Python to thrive for years to come.
 

The Pi-thon 2022 PSF Spring Fundraiser!

Happy Pi Day, 𝛑thonistas! 2022 has been a year with some special dates, and we wanted to honor one more. We are feeling celebratory and excited here at the PSF, having made it through 2020 and 2021 by the strength of our community. We confronted obstacles, comforted each other, found successes, and created fun together. So we are kicking off our Spring Fundraiser on a light and nerdy note, by celebrating our favorite Greek letter and mathematical constant.

Donate to the PSF today, in whatever multiple of pi you choose, and you will receive one-of-a-kind digital 𝛑SF swag as a thank you!

Contributing to the PSF is a great way to show your love for Python. Your donation allows the PSF to continue to host PyCon US and provide scholarships, tutorials, sprints, and more; to send grants to Python events and projects around the world; to support great Python projects and events like PyLadies and PyCascades; to host and maintain PyPI.org; and to support the advancement of the Python language. Your gifts help keep the PSF stable and sustainable, so we can support the Python ecosystem to thrive in the long term.

Some highlights of what the PSF has been able to do with our community in the last year:

• We celebrated Python’s 30th and the PSF’s 20th Anniversary!
• Over 2500 Pythonistas came together to make our virtual PyCon US 2021 a huge success.
• We sent grants to 129 groups in 41 countries (on every continent except Antarctica!) to hold virtual events and connect.
• We supported 13 Python community groups and projects as fiscal sponsorees.
• We hosted PyPI.org for millions of users.
• .We brought on Shamika Mohanan as Packaging Project Manager, to work on the future of PyPI. 
• Łukasz Langa became the PSF’s inaugural Developer in Residence to establish a full-time core developer role.

Show your love for our Python community and contribute to the Spring Fundraiser by May 3rd to get your slice of the pi! We aren’t setting a specific target this year, because honestly it’s been really hard to predict what will be possible for people in general—we aren’t going to pretend anything is easy to forecast right now! But we’d love for as many of you to participate as you can and bring us all a little extra hap-pi-ness. 

Like 𝛑, our appreciation for the Python community and your support can only be expressed as an approximation—it is greater than words can say. And like our gratitude, 𝛑’s digits are infinite. We are sincerely thankful for every single contribution: We couldn’t do this without you, and we feel very lucky to share a community with you. 

We are wishing you all a very happy Pi Day!

ΠS: Don’t forget to register for PyCon US! April 27-May 3rd, 2022, in Salt Lake City, Utah and online! 

ΠΠS: Yes, we will also celebrate the alternate date system Pi Day, July 22nd :)

We are hiring to expand our Infrastructure staff!

On behalf of the Python Software Foundation, and with much excitement as the hiring manager, I am elated to announce that we are hiring for a full-time position to double the PSF staff dedicated to our Infrastructure... from one to two.

The job listing is live on the python.org, and you can find details about the position there. But I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about what fulfilling it will mean for the PSF as an organization and the Python community at large.

This year will mark four years since I joined the PSF full-time as Director of Infrastructure after many years volunteering to support the infrastructure. I hope that the impact I have had in this time on stability and availability has been noticed, but must admit that the breadth of concerns has been limiting to our ability to be effective in improvements and expansion.

With the addition of a new member of the team I look forward to the opportunity for us to increasingly move the infrastructure forward, provide new features and services to the community, and better fulfill our mission. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was excited to more easily take time off as well.

As I look forward to some of the exciting things in store for PyPI and consider the opportunities for the PSF Infrastructure to serve more of the community in more ways, I can't wait to work with you now or maybe next time we hire to expand this team.