Insight into the anatomy of a huge Python project

10:15 AM - 11:00 AM on August 16, 2014, Room 702

Thomas Hatch

Audience level:

novice

Watch:

http://youtu.be/UJldoUIedVg

Description

This talk will provide the backstory of Salt, one of the biggest Python-based projects ever, with a focus on how to successfully create an enthusiastic community in support of an active and friendly project.

Abstract

Thomas Hatch was a systems administrator for large infrastructures. None of the existing systems and configuration management tools could accommodate his need for speed, scale and flexibility. So Tom created Salt in late 2011 using Python as the underpinning language. Salt was designed from the start to be a systems management tool for the modern data center. Today, Salt is one of the largest open source projects in the world in terms of active developers and code contribution rubbing shoulders with projects from Android, Mozilla and OpenStack, and Tom is a top-three Python developer as ranked by Ohloh. This talk will provide the backstory of Salt, sharing stories that have not been told before, with a focus on how to Tom successfully created an enthusiastic community in support of an active, friendly, and really big project.