I'd love to contribute (been looking for a Python project to contribute all this while) but I'm fairly new and haven't much a clue. I guess the best way to start is to get the project and play around with it but I was hoping if you have any advice?

Jump into #pypy on freenode, we're mostly working on getting our 2.7 implementation passing all tests (we merged that branch into defaul this week), so there are various tasks in: fixing our implementation of stdlib modules, interpreter level fixes, new methods on builtin types, and other sorts of things!

read through some of the wiki. Guess I'll jump into the irc channel this weekend and ask questions as I go? Will people assign specific test/task to me or do I just pick a few?

This is exactly why this thing caught my eye. And this is not just a python project, but an interpreter for the language, so should give you a great experience with the language itself.

It would be great to have the JIT and Stackless features together.

Does this also entail developing the rpython translator/compiler? Statically typed python is something I'm really interested in.

It seems to me that pypy is the obvious candidate for blessing as the new reference implementation (because it is self-hosted), but I never see any mention of this being so, with most next-gen effort still being spent on 3.x and CPython. Why is this so?

2 reasons IMO:

1) We don't have Python3 support yet, we're working towards it, but we're behind some. Have the reference implementation be a regression over the previous one doesn't make much sense.

2) We don't have enough users.

And honorable mention reason: RPython is an... interesting language to program, something like a cross between C, Python, Java, with error messages from MUMPS.

> error messages from MUMPS

Is fixing that tractable? Cryptic error messages is one of the most frustrating turn-offs to new would-be contributors.

/probably one of the few people here who has written MUMPS code

Of all the things that I dislike about MUMPS, error messages aren't anywhere near the top of the list.

Yes, it probably is. It's a bit of a chicken and egg situation though, everyone who knows RPython well enough to make the changes can already understand the errors just fine.

heh, epic alum?

I'm currently at epic, but I know there are other companies still using the language.

I've tried finding something to nibble on in PyPy for a while. I'll definitely give this a look-see over the weekend.

I clicked away when I saw the logo of Uncle Sam - that image references both a call to war and a US bias. Just wanted to point out my response, but other than that good luck with the project.

> and a US bias

If you'd stuck around you might have noticed that the project is, essentially, European. The main contributers all live there, they receive funding through Eurostars, and I don't remember any of their gatherings/sprints being held outside of Europe.

In the future you might want to watch that knee-jerk reaction, it can put your foot right in your mouth.

Given the history and imagery of "Uncle Sam", it becoming the equivalent of a genericized trademark cracks me up and makes me marvel at the longevity of a well crafted marketing shtick.

I did read the site further, and realised quickly it wasn't a US-centric group. I am by far a reactionary person and if it made me initially click away, I felt it was better to make a comment so the author could see it, rather than keeping it myself - considering the post is calling for collaboration.

The use of the image has remained culturally strong because of the many brilliant satirical treatments it has received, not because it is a powerful signifier calling for people to work together.

You need to get out more.

Which came first, the Uncle Sam image or this one? http://www.sterlingtimes.org/kitchener.jpg

Kitchener's poster was first. Uncle Sam may be the most famous, but lots of people have used it since. https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Lord_Kitchene...

EDIT: much cooler link http://www.artlebedev.com/mandership/154/

Nice link, thanks. It should have been obvious that "eye contact" and a pointing finger would be a very common theme.