Lysator announces the Snake Farm -- call for participation

  We are in the process of putting together a build farm for Python
  and Python modules.
  
  What are you trying to do?

    We're trying to get Python to dependably build on a wider set of
    Unices. The ultimate goal is to make Python into a ubiquitous piece
    of software you can expect to find on any Unix system.

  Why?

    The immediate reason is that the Python Business Forum (PBF)
    suggested that a build farm would be a good thing to have, and we
    at Lysator Academic Computer Society thought it sounded like a
    cool project. Many of the society's members are great fans of
    Python. Having robust Python distruibutions of Python is one of
    the core goals if the PBF.

    Personally, Python has meant a lot to me (Anders Qvist), and I
    want to give something back.

  Who are you?

    Currently, the project consists of members of the Lysator Academic
    Computer Society at the University of Linköping, Sweden and
    members of the PBF. The project is coordinated by Anders Qvist.

    Anyone can join our english-speaking mailing list
    (snake-farm at lists dot lysator dot liu dot se) at:

      http://lists.lysator.liu.se/mailman/listinfo/snake-farm

    Our official web site (currently under development) at:

      http://www.lysator.liu.se/~sfarmer

    Lysator is the Unix-friendly Computer Society at Linköping
    University. Lysator is one of the oldest computer societies in
    Sweden and has over 200 members.

  Doesn't this require lots of hardware?

    Lysator has a large and diverse collection of UNIX architectures,
    which is now put to work trying to build and test Python source
    code on a nightly basis. HP-UX, Solaris, Linux, AIX, UNICOS och
    Ultrix are among the OSes we want to try to produce robust
    versions of Python that pass the test suites.

      http://www.lysator.liu.se/local/datorhandbok/maskiner.html

  How can I help?

    Trying to build the stuff is only a small part of the job. The big
    task is to make sure it builds *successfully* - and keeps
    building. You can help by tracking the build reports and trying to
    figure out what breaks the builds and submitting patches. Join the
    mailing list, participate in the debate and make sure that your
    favourite Unix is among the ones that can run Python.

    Also, if you have hardware that isn't on our list, you're extra
    welcome to join the build farm.

  What happens next?

    The first step is to get a simple system ready, which builds and
    tests the Python source code on various Unix platforms and reports
    the results to the snake-farm mailing list, so we can keep Python
    stable on a wide selection of Unices. Expect this to happen in
    May.

    In the future, we want to add widely used Python extensions to be
    built against the latest Python source. This way developers will
    get heads-ups about API breakages.

    We also want to gather some statistics on the build process and
    present it on a web page. Which architectures build and test
    successfully right now, when did they last build or test
    successfully and maybe some graphs.

    While we're at it, the binaries for the various platforms should
    be harvested and published in a directory accessible by HTTP, so
    others can download and install them, without having to build
    them. These binaries may eventually be the reference binaries the
    PBF wants.

    The current design does not allow others to patch the source code
    in order to try to fix build failures on various platforms.
    Allowing this has serious security implications, since this would
    include modifications to the makefiles, which can execute
    arbitrary shell commands.

References
  
  http://www.lysator.liu.se/~sfarmer

    Official Snake Farm home page.

  http://lists.lysator.liu.se/mailman/listinfo/snake-farm

    Snake Farm mailing list join page.

  http://cvs.lysator.liu.se/viewcvs/viewcvs.cgi/?cvsroot=snake-farm

    Scripts for the current snake farm.

  http://www.lysator.liu.se/

    Linköping University Academic Computer Society. An english version
    is available from start page.

  http://www.lysator.liu.se/local/datorhandbok/maskiner.html

    Page in swedish, but the relevant info is universally
    understandable.

  http://pbf.nuxeo.org/

    The Python Business Forum.

Project Coordinator,
Anders "Quest" Qvist <quest at lysator dot liu dot se>