Quality of partnership, involvement of users and SMEs ===================================================== Roles ----- While all the partners except Changemaker have staff with Python programming skills that will enable them to fulfill computer program development in the various tasks of the project, each partner brings unique skills or functions, without which the project is not complete. DFKI ++++ has pervious experience of being a project coordinator in EU projects, ensuring smooth communication between the project and the FP6 project officer. Max Planck Institut +++++++++++++++++++ will showcase how to apply the results of the project in the research environment. The insitute currently leverages the speed of development with Python but would be able to solve a wider range of problems with a faster version of the language. University of Southampton +++++++++++++++++++++++++ is the employer of Armin Rigo, who is the lead architect of the whole project as well as the author of Psyco, the blueprint for how to do optimisation in Pypy. FIXME: Where does Samuele go? +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Samuele Pedroni is the main developer of Jython, an implementation of Python that uses the Java Virtual Machine. He is an expert on how to generate code for different virtual machines. He brings experience in this field and a creative mind to the project. Strakt ++++++ brings manangement knowhow and entrepreneurial skills to the project as well as showcasing how to apply the results of the project in a major business application. Strakt will also bring Tim Peters to the project. Tim has for several years been a core developer of the present major implementation of Python, what we call CPython. Apart from being an outstanding programmer, Tim has intimate knowledge about all the details of the Python language definition. With 12 full time and 6 part time employees, Strakt is an SME representative. Alex Martelli (FIXME: Where does Alex go? PBF?) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Being a prolific writer and popular speaker as well as a Python programmer, Alex is uniquely suited for widely disseminating the progress and the results of the project. Technischen Universität Berlin ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ will have Tomasz Meka doing his diploma work for a Computer Science degree. We believe that the Pypy project opens up new avenues for studies and research from undergraduate level to advanced researchers. We hope to verify this through Tomeks work in the project. Changemaker +++++++++++ adds rare project management skills by managing not only the project, but the learning processes of the project participants as well as the group dynamics between the different members. We intend to document and disseminate the management of change throughout the project. Changemaker is also the contact point for Axis Communications, who will showcase how to integrate Pypy in an embedded device. Logilab +++++++ focuses on constraints and aspect oriented programming and will verify that Pypy is extensible with specialised language features. With 6 full time employees, Logilab is an SME representative. Python Business Forum +++++++++++++++++++++ is an industry organisation for companies where Python is a central part of the business model. The PBF is registered as a non-profit organisation under Swedish law. It has approximately 50 SME members. The Forum has a board, which focuses on administration and strategic issues, while the main activities occur in Special Interest Groups (SIGs). Each SIG controls its own activities but reports to the board in financial matters. The PBF will form a Pypy SIG with **Holger Krekel** as chairman to handle its involvement in the project. The PBF brings a number of SME parties to the project who will be eager to apply Pypy to their various products. The selection of which products and companies that should do validations will be made later in the project, since it is impossible to tell which ones will produce the most useful results when validations starts some 24 months from now. **Holger Krekel** will also be an active PBF representative in the project, with a focus on devlopment, packaging and dissemination tools. He will also be a main contributor in matters of systems architecture. **Christian Tismer** will join the project under the auspices of the PBF. Chritian is the developer of Stackless Python, which is the blueprint for how we intend to implement persistant threads. Ability to deliver ------------------ DFKI, Logilab, Max Planck Intitut and University of Southampton have already successfully participated in EU projects, so their ability to deliver on another project should not be in doubt. Strakt, Tismer and Martelli have all recently produced substantial products, which show their capability to handle large undertakings. Krekel has demonstrated his ability to deliver results during the prototype phase that has preceeded this application. For the rest of the PBF, it should be noted that the chairman of the SIG is a member of the project, as well as 3 of the members of the PBF board; Creighton, Hallén and Martelli. The stated merits of these people and their respective organisations should vouch for the PBF fulfilling its undertakings. Changemaker has a number of documented successful projects. Further details can be found under B 5.1. A special circumstance is that several of the project participants have already collaborated in developing a proof of concept for Pypy. This means that the ability to collaborate and to deliver results has already been tested under circumstances that are very similar to what they will be during the project.