Hi all, Apologies for cross-posting, but I need to get the word out and twitter doesn't provide enough explanation.
I've been working on a second edition of my "Guide to NumPy" book. It's been a time-pressured activity, but it's helped me put more meat around my ideas for how to fix NumPy's dtype system -- which I've been contemplating off an on for 8 years. I'm pretty sure I know exactly how to do it --- in a way that fits more cleanly into Python. It will take 3-6 months and will have residual efforts needed that will last another 6 months --- making more types available with NumPy, improving calculations etc. This work will be done completely in public view and allow for public comment. It will not solve *all* of NumPy's problems, but it will put NumPy's dtype system on the footing it in retrospect should have been put on in the first place (if I had known then what I know now). It won't be a grandiose rewrite. It will be a pretty surgical fix to a few key places in the code. However, it will break the ABI and require recompilation of NumPy extensions (and so would need to be called NumPy 2.0). This is unavoidable, but I don't see any problem with breaking the ABI today given how easy it is to get distributions of Python these days from a variety of sources (including using conda --- but not only using conda). For those that remember what happened in Python dev land, the changes will be similar to when Guido changed Python 1.5.2 to Python 2.0. I can mentor and work closely with someone who will work on this and we will invite full participation and feedback from whomever in the community also wants to participate --- but I can't do it myself full time (and it needs someone full time+). Fortunately, I can pay someone to do it if they are willing to commit at least 6 months (it is not required to work at Continuum for this, but you can have a job at Continuum if you want one). I'm only looking for people who have enough experience with C or preferably the Python C-API. You also have to *want* to work on this. You need to be willing to work with me on the project directly and work to have a mind-meld with my ideas which will undoubtedly give rise to additional perspectives and ideas for later work for you. When I wrote NumPy 1.0, I put in 80+ hour weeks for about 6 months or more and then 60+ weeks for another year. I was pretty obsessed with it. This won't need quite that effort, but it will need something like it. Being able to move to Austin is a plus but not required. I can sponsor a visa for the right candidate as well (though it's not guaranteed you will get one with the immigration policies what they are). This is a labor of love for so many of us and my desire to help the dtype situation in NumPy comes from the same space that my desire to work on NumPy in the first place came. I will be interviewing people to work on this as not everyone who may want to will really be qualified to do it --- especially with so many people writing Cython these days instead of good-ole C-API code :-) Feel free to spread the news to anyone you can. I won't say more until I've found someone to work with me on this --- because I won't have the time to follow-up with any questions or comments. Even if I can't find someone I will publish the ideas --- but that also takes time and effort that is in short supply for me right now. If there is someone willing to fund this work, please let me know as well -- that could free up more of my time. Best, -Travis -- *Travis Oliphant* *Co-founder and CEO* @teoliphant 512-222-5440 http://www.continuum.io
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