Spring is in the Air
For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, spring seems to have finally sprung. It’s a lovely time of year, filled with growth, opportunity, and new beginnings. And for all of us here in the pyOpenSci it’s brought new packages, new opportunities, and new projects that we can’t wait to share with you!
pyOpenSci’s first workshop was a success!
On Thursday, April 25th, pyOpenSci held its first-ever workshop, titled: Build Your First Python Package!. With eight countries represented, we had 28 learners create and install their first Python package using Hatch, all in the course of three hours.
This workshop was the first of many online educational events that we plan on hosting, and was a great opportunity for us to put our educational philosophy into practice. All of the pyOpenSci educational materials are community-developed and go through extensive technical and pedagogical review. While the workshop will not be available as a recording, the written content is available on the Learn section of our website, where you’ll find resources such as our Python Packaging Tutorial, as well as in-depth guides on Python packaging, documentation, and testing.
Hello, rdata!
rdata, a Python package that offers a lightweight way to import R datasets/objects stored in the .rda and .rds formats into Python, has been accepted into the pyOpenSci ecosystem. Created by Carlos Ramos Carreño, rdata has several key advantages:
- rdata is a pure Python implementation, with no dependencies on the R language or related libraries. Thus, it can be used anywhere where Python is supported, including the web using Pyodide.
- rdata attempts to support all R objects that can be meaningfully translated. As opposed to other solutions, you are not limited to import dataframes or data with a particular structure.
- rdata allows users to easily customize the conversion of R classes to Python ones. Does your data use custom R classes? Worry no longer, as it is possible to define custom conversions to the Python classes of your choosing.
- rdata has a permissive license (MIT). As opposed to other packages that depend on R libraries and thus need to adhere to the GPL license, you can use rdata as a dependency on MIT, BSD or even closed source projects.
If you’d like to learn more about rdata, we recommend this guest blog post from Carlos!
Write a guest blog post for pyOpenSci
Interested in writing a guest blog post for pyOpenSci? Reach out to media@pyopensci.org to get started! We’re always looking for volunteers to write about all things open source and open science, whether that’s a package you’ve created or something new you’ve learned in Python, or anything in between!
Welcome, ZodiPy
ZodiPy is an open source, Astropy affiliated, Python tool for simulating the zodiacal emission that a solar system observer is predicted to see given an interplanetary dust model. ZodiPy attempts to make zodiacal emission simulations more accessible by providing the community with a simple interface to existing models, and is also a new member of the pyOpenSci community!
pyOpenSci will be at PyCon 2024!
Not only will be be at PyCon US 2024, we’ve got a lot going on while we’re there, and we want you to be a part of it! This year’s PyCon US will be held in Pittsburgh, PA, from May 15th - May 23rd.
pyOpenSci at the PyCon Maintainers Summit
The PyCon Maintainers Summit is where the Python community comes together to discuss and foster best practices on how to develop sustainable projects and nurture thriving communities. Organized by Inessa Pawson (NumPy, Albus Code, OpenTeams), Chris Rose (PyHamcrest, GitHub), Kara Sowles (GitHub), and Leah Wasser (pyOpenSci), the Summit is a must-attend event, where you can hear talks from two pyOpenSci community members:
- Carol Willing (pyOpenSci Advisory Council) will be giving a talk titled: Team Compass: Setting a course for a dynamic project.
- Tracy Teal (pyOpenSci Board Chair) will be giving a talk titled: Documentation: how you can build it so they will come
Leah’s PyCon Packaging Talk
On Saturday, May 18th, pyOpenSci’s Executive Director and Founder, Leah Wasser, will be giving a talk titled “Friends Don’t Let Friends Package Alone”. As she helps us see how packaging doesn’t have to be a thorny topic, she’ll also share:
- Why consensus-building and user-focused content development is critical for tackling thorny topics such as packaging.
- How to decide which packaging tools satisfy your packaging needs.
- Where to find more information and support around packaging.
pyOpenSci-led sprints at PyCon
PyCon US Development Sprints are four days of intensive learning and development on an open source project of your choice, in a team environment. It’s a time to come together with colleagues, old and new, to share what you’ve learned and apply it to an open source project. Leah will be running a pyOpenSci sprint on Monday, May 20th, and would love to see you there! pyOpenSci is committed to diversity and inclusion, and Pythonistas of all backgrounds and skill levels are invited to participate.
Get your pyOpenSci swag at PyCon
We saved the best for last, because we know everyone loves swag! We’ll have a fresh batch of stickers and postcards that we want to put in your hands, so be sure to find Leah to say hello and learn more about all things pyOpenSci. Not sure where to find Leah? If you can’t make it to her talk, sprints, or the Maintainers Summit, follow her on Fosstodon, and keep an eye on the pyOpenSci Fosstodon account as well!
Listen to Leah at SciPy
We’ve received the exciting news that our Executive Director and Founder, Leah Wasser, will be speaking as well as running a Python packaging workshop at SciPy this year! We’ll be sharing more about Leah’s work as the conference gets closer, but consider this your reminder to grab your tickets!
Congratulations on an amazing keynote, Inessa!
If you weren’t able to attend PyConDE & PyData Berlin 2024 to hear Inessa Pawson’s keynote, Tending Open Source Orchards, never fear! You can watch her phenomenal talk, where she dives into the resilient contributor communities behind every large open source project, and shares her insights on the art and science of fostering resilient open source communities.
Upcoming Python events for scientists
PyCon US
Registration is still open for PyCon US 2024, happening May 15th–23rd in Pittsburgh, PA. There’s also an online component for folks who can’t be there in person. It’s shaping up to be a stacked event, and you can view the schedule here.
PyCon Italia
Fancy a trip to Florence? Then grab your tickets for PyCon Italia! The conference runs Wednesday, May 22nd through Saturday, May 25th, and has a stacked list of keynote speakers.
PyData London
Happening June 14–16, PyData London tickets are available now! With tutorials on Friday, June 14th, and talks Saturday and Sunday, this is shaping up to be a phenomenal event for the international community of data scientists, data engineers, and developers of data analysis tools to share ideas and learn from each other.
SciPy
Happening July 8th–14th in Tacoma, WA, SciPy registration is live! Early bird pricing has ended, but it’s not too late to grab a standard ticket.
Tell us about your event!
Have an upcoming scientific Python event that’s open to the public? Email us at media@pyopensci.org with the details to have your event listed.
Connect with us
Stay up-to-date with all things pyOpenSci by following us on LinkedIn and Fosstodon, and you can connect with the broader pyOpenSci community on our Discourse forum. And if you’re interested in our weekly newsletter where we share news, blog posts, and monthly updates, subscribe on LinkedIn. We also send out a monthly recap newsletter to our mailing list!
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