A request for your help

Around 4 years ago, I made the first commit to Cricket - the first tool that would eventually become part of the BeeWare suite. Since then, the BeeWare project has grown to encompass support for mobile platforms, two alternate Python implementations, and a cross platform widget set - as well as the developer tools that started the project originally.

For most of this time, BeeWare has been a volunteer effort. Initially, it was a solo project; however, over the last year in particular, the number of people who have contributed to BeeWare has grown rapidly. Over 300 people have now made contributions to the various BeeWare tools and libraries - due, at least in part, to the Challenge Coins we've been offering at sprints.

Of particular note is the team of 7 people who have joined the project as apiarists, helping share the load of project maintainence. I can't thank these people enough - without their assistance, I wouldn't have made anywhere near as much progress over the last year.

You may have noticed that over the last few months, progress has been especially rapid. This is because, for the last six months, BeeWare development has been partially funded by very accomodating employers at Jambon Software. My contract with Jambon allowed me to spend significant periods of time being paid to work on BeeWare - and, not surprisingly, it was possible to make enormous progress as a result. The last 6 months has seen:

• Extensive improvements to Batavia and VOC;
• An Android backend for Toga;
• A Django backend for Toga, enabling Toga apps to be deployed as web apps;
• A Winforms backend for Toga, enabling Toga apps to run on Windows with a modern appearance;

Unfortunately, my contract with Jambon is coming to a close - which means my contributions to BeeWare will go back to being what my spare time allows.

This also means the rate of progress will also slow. There's still plenty to do: there's plenty of the Python standard library to port to Batavia and VOC; Toga needs much wider widget support; Colosseum needs to be extended so it supports the full CSS box model, not just CSS3 Flexbox; and the tools that started it all - Cricket, Bugjar, Duvet, and others - all need to be ported to Toga.

I would like to be able to work on BeeWare full time. However, the simple reality is that unless I can find a way to pay for this work, it will only be able happen in my spare time.

So - this is an appeal to you - the Python community. If you are excited by the prospect of having access to Python on mobile platforms, or you would like to write applications in Python that have completely native user interfaces - I need your help.

For just US$10 a month - you can join the BeeWare project as a member, and help make this dream become a reality. If I can find 1000 people in the Python community who want these these tools and are willing to support their development financially, I can start working on BeeWare full time. Of course, this target is even easier if companies get involved and sponsor at higher tiers.

If I can find more than 1000 people, then even more becomes possible. The obvious option would be to hire other experienced developers to assist with the work. The idea of having others to bounce ideas off during the development process is very appealing. However, we can also use this as an opportunity to do some social good.

For some time, I've had an open offer to mentor anyone who wants to get involved with Open Source contribution using the BeeWare project. However, not many people have been able to seriously take up this offer, because the time required to seriously take up the offer is prohibitive. I'd like to be able to extend my offer to more than just a casual mentoring relationship. I'd like to be able to hire - and pay - one or more junior developers for the BeeWare project, and focus on giving that opportunity to people from underrepresented demographics.

It's still early days for BeeWare. Financial support means faster progress. More widgets. Better documentation. More of everything you’ve seen so far from BeeWare. If I can find full time funding for myself - or better still, for myself and a small team - then I have no doubt that the BeeWare suite will become a viable alternative for commercial projects in very short order. Best of all, we will be able to do this without having to give up on the ideals of the open source movement.

I'm excited for what the future holds for BeeWare. I hope you'll join me on this journey.

(And if you’re contemplating signing up, and you’re coming to PyCon US in Portland this May, let me drop a gentle hint… sign up now. It will be worth it #cryptic)