About

David Beazley is an independent author, educator, and researcher primarily known for his contributions 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 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 graduate school 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 known 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. 2021 saw the publication of Python Distilled.

In 2023 and 2024, he is teaching Programming Language Design and Implementation with Shriram Krishnamurthi at Brown University.

You might also know Dave from this somewhat infamous bit of live coding. Or maybe this bit of exploration in "the vault". Or this bit of madness involving WebAssembly. Or all of these other talks.

David has a Ph.D. in computer science and a MS/BA in math.

Contact

Dave can be contacted by sending email to dave@dabeaz.com. You can also follow him on Mastodon.