David M Beazley

David Beazley is an independent author, educator, and researcher primarily known for his ongoing work in the Python community. Dave's early career focused on high-performance scientific software and ultimately led to the creation of Swig, a compiler that allowed existing C/C++ software to be scripted from Python and other dynamic languages. In 1996, he ported Python to run on massively parallel supercomputers including the Connection Machine 5 and Cray T3D. In 1999, he authored the Python Essential Reference, the first reference book published on Python. From 1998-2005, Dave was a tenure-track assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Chicago where he primarily taught courses in operating systems and networks. Since 2007, he has operated Dabeaz LLC, a business primarily focused on teaching and research. If asked, Dave would probably say he's running a one-person university and you'd be right to scratch your head and wonder what kind of lunatic does that? Maybe it's better not to ask.

David continues to actively develop software and is a well-respected conference speaker. In 2013, he authored a new edition of the Python Cookbook, modernized to Python 3. In 2016, he recorded a video training series on the Python Programming Language. 2016 also saw the launch of two new software projects, Curio and SLY.

David Beazley

David M. Beazley is the developer of SWIG, a popular software package for integrating C programs with interpreted languages including Python, Perl, and Tcl. He has been actively involved with the Python community since 1996 and is currently working on projects related to mixed-mode debugging of scripting language extensions. Dave spent seven years working in the Theoretical Physics Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he helped pioneer the use of Python with high-performance simulation software running on parallel computers. He is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Chicago, where he enjoys tormenting students with insane programming projects in operating systems, networks, and compilers courses. He can be reached at beazley@cs.uchicago.edu.