[pypy-commit] pypy.org extradoc: (hpk, fijal) Merged all py3k donate related texts into one and put it into

fijal noreply at buildbot.pypy.org
Tue Sep 20 16:18:20 CEST 2011 

Author: Maciej Fijalkowski <fijall at gmail.com>
Branch: extradoc
Changeset: r259:b66d031b6a5e
Date: 2011-09-20 16:16 +0200
http://bitbucket.org/pypy/pypy.org/changeset/b66d031b6a5e/

Log:	(hpk, fijal) Merged all py3k donate related texts into one and put
	it into pypy.org repository.

diff --git a/source/py3donate.rst b/source/py3donate.rst
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/source/py3donate.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,287 @@
+---
+layout: page
+title: Python 3 funding
+---
+
+Call for donations: PyPy to support Python 3!
+=============================================
+
+The release of Python 3 has been a major undertaking for the Python
+community, both technically and socially.  So far the PyPy interpreter
+implements only version 2 of the Python language and is increasingly
+used in production systems.  It thus contributes to the general risk
+of a long lasting Python community split where a lot of people
+continue using Python 2 while others work with Python 3, making it
+harder for everyone. 
+
+The PyPy project is in a unique position in that it could support
+**both Python 2 and Python 3** versions from the same code base, fully
+reusing its unique translation and JIT-Compiler technologies.
+However, it requires a lot of work, and it will take a long time
+before we can complete a Python 3 port if we only wait for volunteer
+work.  Thus, we are asking the community to help with funding the
+necessary work, to make it happen faster.  Here_ is a more detailed view on how our proposed work benefits the Python community and the general public. 
+
+Below you'll find the `planned stages of work`_ and the associated
+fundraising targets we need to make things happen.  Once we reach the
+neccessary target for each stage, we will start contracting
+developers.  Contracts and money are managed by the non-profit
+`Software Freedom Conservancy`_ of which the PyPy project is a member.
+The current elected representatives are Carl Friedrich Bolz, Holger
+Krekel and Jacob Hallen and they will - in close collaboration - with
+Conservancy and the core developers, select the best developers for
+the Python 3 porting job among well known PyPy contributors.
+
+If you want to see PyPy support Python 3 and Python 2, donate here:
+
+    XXX insert links to Paypal and Google Chekcout links categorized such
+    that things will get accounted properly on the Conservancy side
+
+Should we not receive enough donations to complete all stages by 1st March 2012
+at the latest, we will try our best to make PyPy support Python 3 anyway.  We
+however reserve the right to shift any unused funds to other PyPy activities
+when that date is reached.  Of course, since the Conservancy is a
+501(c)(3) chartiable organization incorporated in NY, USA, all funds will,
+regardless of their use, be spent in a way that benefits the general
+public, the advancement of Open Source and Free Software,
+and in particular the PyPy community and the PyPy codebase. 
+
+**Note** For donations higher than $XXX we can arrange for an invoice and a different payment method to avoid the high Paypal fees.  Please contact pypy at sfconservancy.org if you want to know details
+on how to donate via other means.
+
+.. _`Software Freedom Conservancy`: http://sfconservancy.org/
+.. _`planned stages of work`:
+
+Workplan
+========
+
+The goal of this project is to write an interpreter that interprets
+version 3 of Python language. To be precise we would aim at having
+Python 3.2 interpreter together in the same codebase as python 2.7
+one.
+
+At the end of the project, it will be possible to decide at
+translation time whether to build an interpreter which supports Python
+2.7 or Python 3.2 and both versions will be nightly tested and
+available from nightly builds.
+
+The focus of this project is on compatibility, not performance.  In
+particular, it might be possible that the resulting Python 3
+interpreter will be slower than the Python 2 one.  If needed,
+optimizing and making it more JIT friendly will be the scope of a
+separate project.
+
+About estimates and costs
+-------------------------
+
+For each step, we estimated the time that it would take to complete for an
+experienced developer who is already familiar with the PyPy codebase.  From
+this number, the money is calculated considering a hourly rate of $60, and a
+5% overhead which goes to the `Software Freedom Conservancy`_, the non-profit
+association of which the PyPy project is a member and which manages all the
+issues related to donations, taxes and payments.
+
+The estimated time to complete the whole project is about 10.5 person-months.
+
+For comparison, the python-3000 mailing list was created in March 2006; Python
+3.0 was released in December 2008 and Python 3.1, the first release genuinely
+suitable for production use (due to the abysmal I/O performance of 3.0) was
+released in June 2009.  During these 3.5 years, a lot of people contributed to
+the development of Python 3, and while it is hard to turn these numbers into
+precise person-years, it sounds reasonable to think that in total it took
+several person-years.
+
+We have the advantage of targeting something that already exists without
+having to define the destination as they go along, and also the internal
+architecture of PyPy makes it easier to do the porting.
+
+
+Step 1: core language 
+----------------------
+
+In this step, we implement all the changes to the core language,
+i.e. everything which is not in the extension modules.  This includes, but it
+is not necessarily limited to the following items, which are split into two
+big areas:
+
+* **Sub-step 1.1**: string vs unicode and I/O:
+
+    - adapt the existing testing infrastructure to support running Python 3 code
+
+    - string vs bytes: the interpreter uses unicode strings everywhere.
+
+    - the ``print`` function
+
+    - ``open`` is now an alias for ``io.open``, removal of the old file type.
+
+    - string formatting (for the part which is not already implemented in Python
+      2.7)
+
+    - the _io module (for the part which is not already implemented in Python
+      2.7)
+
+    - syntactic changes to make ``io.py`` importable (in particular:
+      ``metaclass=...`` in class declarations)
+
+    - **Estimate cost**: $37,000
+
+* **Sub-step 1.2**: other syntactic changes, builtin types and functions,
+    exceptions:
+
+    - views and iterators instead of lists (e.g., ``dict.items()``, ``map``,
+      ``range`` & co.)
+
+    - new rules for ordering comparisons
+
+    - removal of old-style classes
+
+    - int/long unification
+
+    - function annotations
+
+    - smaller syntax changes, such as keyword-only arguments, ``nonlocal``,
+      extended iterable unpacking, set literals, dict and set comprehension, etc.
+
+    - changes to exceptions: ``__traceback__`` attribute, chained exceptions,
+      ``del e`` at the end of the except block, etc.
+
+    - changes to builtins: ``super``, ``input``, ``next()``, etc.
+
+    - improved ``with`` statement
+
+    - **Estimate cost**: $26,000
+
+
+Note that the distinction between sub-steps 1.1 and 1.2 is blurry, and it might be
+possible that during the development we will decide to move items between the
+two sub-steps, as needed.
+
+For more information, look at the various "What's new" documents:
+
+- http://docs.python.org/py3k/whatsnew/3.0.html
+
+- http://docs.python.org/py3k/whatsnew/3.1.html
+
+- http://docs.python.org/py3k/whatsnew/3.2.html
+
+**Total estimate cost**: $63,000
+
+.. Time estimate: 3.5 + 2.5 = 6 man/months
+
+
+Step 2: extension modules
+--------------------------
+
+In this step, we implement all the changes to the extension modules which are
+written in C in CPython.  This includes, but it is not necessarily limited to:
+
+- ``collections``, ``gzip``, ``bz2``, ``decimal``, ``itertools``, ``re``,
+  ``functools``, ``pickle``, ``_elementtree``, ``math``, etc.
+
+**Estimate cost**: this is hard to do at this point, we will be able to give a
+more precise estimate as soon as Step 1 is completed.  As a reference, it
+should be possible to complete it with $37,000
+
+.. Time estimate: 4 man/months
+
+Step 3: cpyext
+--------------
+
+The ``cpyext`` module allows to load CPython C extensions in PyPy.  Since the
+C API changed a lot between Python 2.7 and Python 3.2, ``cpyext`` will not
+work out of the box in the Python 3 PyPy interpreter.  In this step, we will
+adapt it to work with Python 3 as well.
+
+Note that, even for Python 2, ``cpyext`` is still in a beta state.  In
+particular, not all extension modules compile and load correctly.  As a
+consequence, the same will be true for Python 3 as well.  As a general rule,
+we expect that if a Python 2 module works with ``cpyext``, the corresponding
+Python 3 version will also work when this step is completed, although the
+details might vary depending on the exact C extension module.
+
+**Estimate cost**: $5,000
+
+.. Time estimate: 0.5 man/month
+
+.. _`here`:
+
+Benefits of This Work to the Python Community and the General Public
+====================================================================
+
+Python has become one of the most popular dynamic programming languages in
+the world.  Web developers, educators, and scientific programmers alike
+all value Python because Python code is often more readable and because
+Python often increases programmer productivity.
+
+Traditionally, languages like Python ran more slowly than static, compiled
+languages; Python developers chose to sacrifice execution speed for ease
+of programming.  The PyPy project created a substantially improved Python
+language implementation, including a fast Just-in-time (JIT) compiler.
+The increased execution speed that PyPy provides has attracted many users,
+who now find their Python code runs up to four times faster under PyPy
+than under the reference implementation written in C. Some programs that
+are particularly JIT-friendly see even greater speedups.
+
+_`speed`: http://speed.pypy.org
+
+Meanwhile, the Python community is undergoing significant change, with the
+introduction of a new 'version 3' of the Python language (Python 3).
+Python 3 breaks some backwards compatibility with 2.x series, so
+programmers who seek to use Python 3 must port old code.  For example,
+programmers who needed old libraries might want to use Python 2 only and
+programmers wanting to use new language features would like to use Python
+3, but would not be able to use libraries that written for Python 2.x
+without substantial rewrites.  This issue could lead to a dangerous
+community split: programmers who needed old libraries might only use
+Python 2 and programmers seeking new language features would use Python 3,
+but would not be able to use libraries written for Python 2.x.
+
+PyPy currently supports only Python 2.7.  While PyPy supports only version
+2 of the Python language, PyPy users have an incentive to avoid Python 3.
+Python programmers must chose between the language features in Python 3,
+and the substantial performance benefits offered by PyPy.
+
+To address this issue, the PyPy team proposes to implement Python 3 on
+PyPy.  With such improvements to PyPy, PyPy can support the entire
+Python-using community and hopefully help to prevent any community split.
+PyPy support of Python 3 would also bring the excellent code execution
+performance of PyPy to those who wish to migrate to Python 3.
+
+Moreover, by ensuring the latest version of the Python language
+specification (Py3k) works properly and fully on PyPy, the maximal benefit
+of collaboration, learning, and software improvement can happen in the
+entire Python language community.
+
+A broad community of developers support and develop the PyPy project,
+many of whom work as volunteers. The Py3k grant should help with turning
+some attention towards implementing Python 3. This will not hinder other
+directions in which PyPy is going like improving performance. The goal
+of the PyPy community is to support both Python 2 and Python 3 for the
+forseeable future.
+
+PyPy's developers make all PyPy software available to the public without
+charge, under PyPy's Open Source copyright license, the permissive MIT
+License.  PyPy's license assures that PyPy is equally available to
+everyone freely on terms that allow both non-commercial and commercial
+activity.  This license allows for academics, for-profit software
+developers, volunteers and enthusiasts alike to collaborate together to
+make a better Python implementation for everyone.
+
+Finally, tracing JITs and other programming language execution technology
+used in PyPy are of current and particular interest in computer science
+research.  PyPy helps cross-pollinate knowledge between academic computer
+science and industrial use of Python, since PyPy can function well both as
+a research tool and real-world Python programming language implementation.
+Continued support and evolution of PyPy in any direction, such as support
+for Py3k, increases the features available from PyPy and such improvements
+are expected to spark even more general interest in PyPy itself and the
+Python programming language generally.
+
+References on Educational Uses of Python:
+  - http://wiki.python.org/moin/SchoolsUsingPython
+  - http://www.python.org/doc/essays/cp4e.html
+
+References for PyPy and its benefits:
+  - http://pypy.org/
+  - http://pypy.org/features.html
+  - http://pypy.org/compat.html

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