[pypy-svn] rev 1923 - pypy/trunk/doc/funding

[lac at codespeak.net]

Author: lac
Date: Tue Oct 14 20:15:40 2003
New Revision: 1923

Modified:
   pypy/trunk/doc/funding/B7.0_other_issues.txt
Log:
Add section CP4E, and put in the Ethic disclaimers they wanted.
They say 'table' but I doubt that this will be hated.



Modified: pypy/trunk/doc/funding/B7.0_other_issues.txt
==============================================================================
--- pypy/trunk/doc/funding/B7.0_other_issues.txt	(original)
+++ pypy/trunk/doc/funding/B7.0_other_issues.txt	Tue Oct 14 20:15:40 2003
@@ -4,17 +4,43 @@
 Ethical Considerations
 -----------------------
 
-Writing programs is by its nature a mental exercise which requires
-knowledge, structured thought and tenacity. The result can then be run
-on a piece of equipment that is very general in nature and that can be
-mass produced at fairly low cost. This is an opportunity for making
-the skill of program writing ubiquitous, bringing it to less developed
-countries and regions and to groups of people who need new
-opportunities.
-
-This is best done with a fast, powerful, easy to use language that is
-equally available to everyone. Python in the Pypy implementation
-intends to be such a language.
+A. Proposers are requested to fill in the following table  
+
+Does your proposed research raise sensitive ethical questions related to:
+       
+       Human beings							No.
+
+
+       Human biological samples						No.
+
+
+       Personal data (whether identified by name or not)		No.
+
+
+       Genetic information						No.
+
+
+       Animals							        No.
+
+
+B. Proposers are requested to confirm that the proposed research does not 
+   involve:  
+
+   Research activity aimed at human cloning for reproductive purposes	No.
+
+   Research activity intended to modify the genetic heritage of human
+   beings which could make such changes heritable.			No.
+
+   Research activity intended to create human embryos solely for the
+   purpose of research or for the purpose of stem cell procurement,
+   including by means of somatic cell nuclear transfer;			No.
+
+   Research involving the use of human embryos or embryonic stem
+   cells with the exception of banked or isolated human embryonic
+   stem cells in culture						No.
+
+Confirmation : the proposed research involves none of the issues
+listed in section B							YES.
 
 Gender Issues
 ----------------
@@ -103,7 +129,7 @@
    and C++ prone to attacks. By improving Python performance, a larger
    set of programs will be immune to such exploits.
 
-3. Pypy provides the tools for adding specialised security features to
+3. PyPy provides the tools for adding specialised security features to
    the language, in the form of new Object Spaces. This allows
    applications where security is paramount to add checks and
    partitioning that will significantly strengthen the defenses. As
@@ -199,3 +225,42 @@
 dynamic geometry laboratory and toolkit, commonly used by elementary
 and high school teachers.  This is where the future lies.  Python is
 already an excellent teaching language.  PyPy will be a better one.
+
+Thus PyPy comes full circle, and back to Python's original heritage,
+as a language that was designed to be 'easy to use' for
+non-programmers.  In the appendix, a proposal *Computer Programming
+For Everybody*, written in 1999 by Guido van Rossum, Python's creator,
+is as relevant now as when it was written.  To summarise: 
+
+Python's predecessor, ABC, was designed at CWI in the early eighties
+as a teaching language. Its motto was "stamp out Basic" -- the main
+competition in languages for non-experts at the time. ABC's designers
+had a lot of experience teaching traditional programming languages
+like ALGOL to novices.  They discovered that students were often so
+overwhelmed by the incidental details of using a computer language
+they never managed to focus on good program and algorithm design.
+
+ABC's designers therefore set out to design a language that would take
+care of all the incidentals, leaving the student more time to learn
+about programming, and not the chore of 'how to use a computer'.  They
+proposed both a new language design and new terminology that deviated
+radically from what was (and still is) current among computer
+scientists and programmers.  This proved to be a barrier towards
+widespread adoption.  ABC was too different.  People actually wanted a
+language which was more like other languages, not one that simply
+didn't relate to what programmers would be doing the rest of their
+lives.  Thus ABC remained a teaching language, and nothing more.
+
+About a decade later, Python grew out of this frustration. It shares
+ABC's focus on elegance of expression, fundamentals of programming,
+and taking away incidentals, but adds the modern tools that programmers
+have come to expect, such as object-orientation, and a large and
+powerful standard library.
+
+The PyPy project, being a focused STREP, does not intend to address
+the problem of 'Computer Literacy' and 'Computer Programming For
+Everybody'.  But we believe that these problems would make an
+excellent candidate for a Python-related Specific Supporting Action,
+and we would make every effort to aid and assist such an action should
+the Commission call for it.  
+