[python-committers] What is a CPython core developer?

[Ezio Melotti]

On Wed, Oct 4, 2017 at 6:58 PM, Victor Stinner <victor.stinner at gmail.com>
wrote:

> 2017-09-22 18:48 GMT+02:00 Antoine Pitrou <antoine at python.org>:
> >> * Long term commitement. (...)
> >
> > Unfortunately we can't evaluate that in advance.  Even the person being
> > promoted often does not known whether they'll still be there in 5 or 10
> > years.  Hopefully that's on their horizon, but many factors can
> interfere.
>
> To be clear, I disagree with the "long term commitement", but I tried
> to summarize what I heard from other core developers. I think that it
> would be wrong to at least not mention it. If most core developers
> disagree with this requirement, we should remove it. If there is no
> consensus, I prefer to mention it *but* also explains that it's not
> strictly a "requirement", but more a "whish".
>

I think it really depends on the reason the developer has been given commit
privileges:
* generic work on the documentation, tests, or stdlib? several people can
take over if the dev disappears
* changed something specific in the language (e.g. import system, Unicode
representation)? some people can take over
* added new features to the language (e.g. typing, asyncio) or a new
module? few people can take over

IOW, the lower the bus factor, the higher are the expectations of long term
commitment.

In my case I used to do lot of generic work on CPython and when I became
less active other people took over with not many repercussions.  For more
specific areas (e.g. html.parser or Unicode) I still try to participate to
the discussions.  For the bug tracker I have to commit long-term because
other devs lack the time and/or knowledge required to maintain it.

Best Regards,
Ezio Melotti




> I will try to clarify expectations in term of time, evenings, weekends
> and holidays :-)
>
> > I, personally, can only think of a couple of cases where a person being
> > promoted core developer vanished a few months after that.  It's not a
> > big deal in the grand scheme of things, though it *is* frustrating to
> > spend your time mentoring and promoting someone (which also engages your
> > own responsability, since you're the one vouching that they'll be up to
> > the task) only to see that person produce little to no work as a core
> > developer.
>
> While it's sad, I don't think that we can prevent this. It's hard to
> "force" someone to work for free on a free software during nights and
> weekends.
>
> >> * Review patches and pull requests. While we don't require not expect
> >> newcomers to review, we expect that core developers dedicate a part of
> >> their time on reviews.
> >
> > Yes, I believe this is the most important part of being a core
> > developer.  What it means is that core developers care about the quality
> > of the whole code base (and also the non-code parts), not only their own
> > contributions to it.
>
> I completed my list. I'm lazy, I copied/pasted what you wrote (not
> only this paragraph) :-)
>
> https://cpython-core-tutorial.readthedocs.io/en/latest/what_
> is_a_cpython_core_developer.html
>
> >> * Know the CPython workflow. Be aware of the pre-commit and
> >> post-commits CIs. How ideas are discussed. It's not only about writing
> >> and pushing patches.
> >
> > This part is also required from regular contributors, at least the
> > experienced ones.
>
> Ah yes, I didn't say that these requirements are specific to CPython
> core developers. Most items are "expected" from regular contributors.
> I wrote it explicitly before my list :-)
>
> > Two things I would add:
> >
> > - Know to be nice (...)
> > - Show a bit of humility (...)
>
> Oh, you're right. Thank you for being explicit on these points.
>
> I think that we already expected this from promoted core developers,
> just that it wasn't written down previously.
>
> Victor
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