The PEP Talk

The Python Podcast.__init__

Episode | Podcast

Date: Sat, 26 Dec 2015 21:00:00 -0500

<p>Visit our <a href="http://pythonpodcast.com?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss">site</a> to listen to past episodes, support the show, and sign up for our mailing list.</p> <h3>Summary</h3> <p>The Python language is built by and for its community. In order to add a new feature, change the specification, or create a new policy the first step is to submit a proposal for consideration. Those proposals are called PEPs, or Python Enhancement Proposals. In this episode we had the great pleasure of speaking with three of the people who act as stewards for this process to learn more about how it got started, how it works, and what impacts it has had.</p> <h3>Brief Introduction</h3> <ul> <li>Hello and welcome to Podcast.__init__, the podcast about Python and the people who make it great.</li> <li>Subscribe on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast.-init/id981834425?mt=2&amp;uo=6&amp;at=&amp;ct=&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">iTunes</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=64838&amp;refid=stpr&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Stitcher</a>, <a href="http://tunein.com/embed/follow/p726240/#?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">TuneIn</a> or <a href="https://www.pythonpodcast.com/feed/mp3/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss">RSS</a></li> <li>Follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/Podcast__init__?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="https://plus.google.com/+Podcastinit-the-python-podcast?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Google+</a></li> <li>Give us feedback! Leave a review on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast.-init/id981834425?mt=2&amp;uo=6&amp;at=&amp;ct=&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">iTunes</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/Podcast__init__?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Tweet</a> to us, send us an <a href="mailto:hosts@podcastinit.com">email</a> or leave us a message on <a href="https://plus.google.com/+Podcastinit-the-python-podcast?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Google+</a></li> <li>I would like to thank everyone who has donated to the show. Your contributions help us make the show sustainable. For details on how to support the show you can visit our site at <a href="http://pythonpodcast.com?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss">pythonpodcast.com</a></li> <li>This episode is sponsored by Zato &#8211; Microservices, ESB, SOA, REST, API, and Cloud Integrations in Python. Visitzato.io to learn more about how to integrate smarter in the modern world.</li> <li>I would also like to thank Hired, a job marketplace for developers, for sponsoring this episode of Podcast.__init__. Use the link <a href="http://hired.com/podcastinit?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">hired.com/podcastinit</a> to double your signing bonus.</li> <li>Searching for Pythonistas with Disabilities</li> <li>We are recording today on December 7th, 2015 and your hosts as usual are Tobias Macey and Chris Patti</li> <li>Today we are interviewing some of the PEP editors</li> </ul> <h3 style="clear: both;">Interview with PEP editors</h3> <ul> <li>Introductions</li> <li>How did you get introduced to Python? &#8211; Chris</li> <li>For anyone who isn’t familiar with them, can you explain what a PEP is and how they influence the Python language? &#8211; Tobias</li> <li>What are the requirements for a PEP to be considered for approval and what does the overall process look like to get it finalized? &#8211; Tobias</li> <li>How has the PEP process evolved to meet challenges posed by changes in the Python community? &#8211; Chris</li> <li>How many reviewers are there and how did each of you end up in that role? Is there a set number of editors that must be maintained and if so how did you arrive at that number? &#8211; Tobias</li> <li>What mistakes have other communities made when creating similar processes, and how has PEP learned from those mistakes? &#8211; Chris</li> <li>There are different categories for PEPs. Can you describe what those are and how you arrived at that ontology? &#8211; Tobias</li> <li>Is there any significance to the numbering system used for identifying different PEPs? &#8211; Tobias</li> <li>How does the PEP process maintain its sense of humor (e.g. PEP 20) while being sure to be taken seriously where it really counts? &#8211; Chris</li> <li>Along the lines of humorous PEPs, can you share the story of PEP 401? &#8211; Tobias</li> <li>How does the PEP process strive to prevent an undesirable level of control by any one company or other special interest group? &#8211; Chris</li> <li>How much control does Guido have over the PEP process? Has a PEP ever directly countered Guido’s wishes? How did it turn out? &#8211; Chris</li> <li>What is your favorite PEP and why? &#8211; Tobias <ul> <li>Barry: <a href="https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0020/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">PEP 20</a></li> <li>Chris: <a href="https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0479/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">PEP 479</a></li> <li>David: <a href="https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0020/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">PEP 20</a></li> </ul> </li> <li>What, in your opinion, has been the most important or far-reaching PEP, whether it was approved or not? &#8211; Tobias <ul> <li>David: <a href="https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0020/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">PEP 20</a></li> <li>Chris: <a href="https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0466/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">PEP 466</a></li> <li>Barry: <a href="https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0008/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">PEP 8</a></li> </ul> </li> <li>What was the strangest / most extreme PEP proposal you’ve ever seen? &#8211; Chris <ul> <li>Chris: PEP <a href="https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0501/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">501</a></li> <li>Barry: PEP <a href="https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0507/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">507</a></li> <li>David: PEP <a href="https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0666/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">666</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <h3>Picks</h3> <ul> <li>Tobias <ul> <li><a href="http://wagtail.io?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Wagtail CMS</a></li> <li><a href="http://amzn.to/1PSBoVX?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Inside Out</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Spark Podcast</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.openculture.com/2015/12/steve-martin-writes-a-hymn-for-hymn-less-atheists.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Hymn for Atheists</a></li> </ul> </li> <li>Chris <ul> <li><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3203606/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Trumbo</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=SPdNh1e1kmiPP4YApJm8ENK2yMlwF1_edq&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Kivy Crash Course</a></li> <li><a href="http://jihadology.net/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Jihadology Podcast</a></li> </ul> </li> <li>Barry <ul> <li><a href="https://testrun.org/tox/latest?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Tox</a></li> <li><a href="http://nose2.readthedocs.org/en/latest/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Nose2</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2357547/?ref_=nv_sr_1&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Jessica Jones</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/joy-of-science.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">The Joy of Science</a></li> </ul> </li> <li>Chris <ul> <li><a href="http://git-man-page-generator.lokaltog.net/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">The Git Manpage Generator</a></li> <li><a href="http://dailymtg.com?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Daily MTG</a></li> </ul> </li> <li>David <ul> <li><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3089388/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Tim’s Vermeer</a></li> <li><a href="http://amzn.to/1RLQT2q?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Ready Player One</a></li> <li><a href="http://amzn.to/1klbBHS?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">The Aristocrats</a></li> <li><a href="http://scientificsong.com/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Scientific Songs of Praise</a></li> <li><a href="https://soundcloud.com/hollywoodbabbleon?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Hollywood Babble On</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <h3>Keep In Touch</h3> <ul> <li>Barry <ul> <li><a href="https://feeds.fireside.fm/pythonpodcast/wefearchange.org">Blog</a></li> </ul> </li> <li>Chris <ul> <li><a href="https://feeds.fireside.fm/pythonpodcast/rosuav.blogspot.com">Blog</a></li> <li><a href="https://github.com/rosuav?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">GitHub</a></li> </ul> </li> <li>David <ul> <li><a href="https://feeds.fireside.fm/pythonpodcast/python.net/~goodger">Website</a></li> <li><a href="https://feeds.fireside.fm/pythonpodcast/david.goodger.org">Blog</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <h3>Links</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://smile.amazon.com/Complete-Monty-Pythons-Flying-Circus/dp/0679726470/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1449600613&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=Monty+Python+all+the+words&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Monty Python &#8211; All the Words</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/MontyPython?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Monty Python &#8211; On YouTube</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0404/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">PEP 404</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0666/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">PEP 666</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf-BqAjZb8M&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Raymond Hettinger PyCon 2015 PEP8 talk</a></li> <li><a href="https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-dev?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Python Dev Mailing List</a></li> <li><a href="https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-ideas?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Python Ideas Mailing List</a></li> <li><a href="https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-bugs-list?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Python Bug Mailing List</a></li> </ul> <p>The intro and outro music is from Requiem for a Fish <a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Freak_Fandango_Orchestra/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">The Freak Fandango Orchestra</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">CC BY-SA</a><img alt="" height="0" src="https://analytics.boundlessnotions.com/piwik.php?idsite=1&amp;rec=1&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pythonpodcast.com%2Fepisode-37-the-pep-talk%2F&amp;action_name=The+PEP+Talk+-+Episode+37&amp;urlref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pythonpodcast.com%2Ffeed%2F&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss" style="border: 0; width: 0; height: 0;" width="0" /></p>