[Numpy-discussion] Numpy governance update

[Francesc Alted]

On Feb 17, 2012, at 5:20 AM, John Hunter wrote:
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> And he has proven his ability to lead when *almost everyone* was
> against him.  At the height of the Numeric/numarray split, and I was
> deeply involved in this as the mpl author because we had a "numerix"
> compatibility layer to allow users to use one or the other, Travis
> proposed writing numpy to solve both camp's problems.  I really can't
> remember a single individual who supported him.  What I remember is
> the cacophony of voices who though this was a bad idea, because of the
> "third fork" problem.  But Travis forged ahead, on his own, wrote
> numpy, and re-united the Numeric and numarray camps.
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Thanks John for including this piece of NumPy history in this context.  My voice was part of the "cacophony" about the "third fork" problem back in 2005.  I was pretty darn uncomfortable on the perspective of adding support for a third numerical package on PyTables.  However, Travis started to work with all engines powered on, and in a few months he had built a thing that was overly better than Numeric and numarray together.  The rest is history.  But I remember this period (2005) as one of the most dramatic examples on how the capacity and dedication of a single individual can shape the world.

-- Francesc Alted