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smortaz

1,711 karma · joined April 28, 2011

Shahrokh Mortazavi runs the Data Science Developer Tools teams at Microsoft, focused on Python, R, and Jupyter Notebooks (http://notebooks.azure.com). Previously, he was in the High Performance Computing group at Microsoft. He worked on the Phoenix Compiler tool chain (code gen, analysis, JIT) at Microsoft Research and, prior to that, over a 10 year period led Sun Microsystems’ Code Generation & Optimization compiler backend teams. Contact: smortaz over at microsoft.com
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smortaz··on Welcome to the Python Engineering blog
IronPython has been in the community's hands for a while. We do support it in PTVS, but that's about it. Curious - did you consider Qt?
smortaz··on Welcome to the Python Engineering blog
Thanks ableal - improving pkg installation is under heavy discussion currently. We'll take a look. Cheers.
smortaz··on Welcome to the Python Engineering blog
Thanks tanlermin. We are aware of nuitka and in general very excited about the various Turbo options that are showing up for Python.

Our own effort is pyjion and we have a talk at PyCon 2016:

https://github.com/Microsoft/Pyjion

The high order bit is to restructure CPython to enable easy plugging in of various JIT optimizer/codegenerators into the interpreter. Our own attempt will be based on the cross-platform .Net JIT (generating machine code).

smortaz··on Welcome to the Python Engineering blog
Thanks for the heads up. It turns out that we are now much closer to the SQL team, so I'll ping the owner listed on that page & get an update.
smortaz··on Welcome to the Python Engineering blog
roger - 1st a big thank you for the wonderful service you provide.

I assume you are aware of this:

https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/vcblog/2015/11/02/announcin...

The python team actually pushed for this unbundling. Which other versions do you need? I can take than info back to the VC++ team.

There's also this for VM's:

https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/visualstudio/2015/01/08/azu...

Thanks.

smortaz··on Welcome to the Python Engineering blog
Hi, team lead here. Very Happy to see this on HN.

If there are any requests for the team pls feel free to voice them. Smiles, frowns, ...

Anything from making pkg installation easier to cross platform dev tools.

Cheers.

smortaz··on Pyjion – A JIT for Python based upon CoreCLR
if the speedups pan out, that is the plan! the work on performance has not been started yet however.
smortaz··on Show HN: R in Visual Studio from Microsoft
Dear HN,

Our team did PTVS (Python Tools for Visual Studio). A few months ago we asked HN if there would be interest in R in Visual Studio. The response was positive.

These are very early bits, but it should give you a general flavor of what's to come.

If you'd like to get on the list, please send an email to rtvs-invite@microsoft.com [NOTE: alias will be active tomorrow Wednesday!]

Thanks!

smortaz··on G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft
I'm with you. I'd love for us to get there, but the predictions are highly highly optimistic imho. 15+ years for limited scenarios at best.
smortaz··on Visual Studio Code is now open source
We've been asked this by a few people, so I figured this is a good place to respond:

Will PTVS (Python Tools for Visual Studio) come to VSCode?

The answer is YES! This will be a major focus next year. Expect full intellisense, debugging, profiling, pkg mgmt, unit test, virtual env, multiple interpreter, Jupyter, etc. support.

Disc: Python/R/Jupyter team lead

https://www.visualstudio.com/features/python-vs

smortaz··on Well vs. Equal Temperament (2000)
Wendy Carlos released a 2nd version of her Bach Brandenberg Concertos that were done using period tuning on synthesizers including modulations. perhaps you can compare the two.
smortaz··on Why Write Python in Visual Studio?
If you want to get a feel for what PTVS is like, you can watch these short videos:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLReL099Y5nRdLgGAdrb_Y...

10k foot view web page: https://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/features/python-vs

if you want to get a feel for an advanced feature, try:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvJaKQ94lBY

smortaz··on Why Write Python in Visual Studio?
hi smortaz, project lead for PTVS. i'd love to get a pointer to the script (or repro). this should definitely not be the case! sorry about your experience.
smortaz··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (August 2015)
Microsoft | Web Frontend, DevOp, IDE Dev | Onsite: Redmond | Full-time

We are a small team in Microsoft that produces various Python, R and Jupyter/IPython related IDE's. Example: http://aka.ms/ptvs, http://aka.ms/jupyter. Almost everything we do (if we can help it), is OSS and free.

We are hiring for 3 positions:

1) A senior web frontend / javascript dev to work on Jupyter/IPython. You'll be contributing to the Jupyter code base as well as customizing the UI, etc. for particular scenarios (eg Spark). Direct IPython experience a major plus. Devenv: primarily Man/Win/Linux.

2) A senior Linux live-site devops/sysadmin. The Jupyter service linked above runs on ubuntu/docker. You'll own managing the VMs, Security, Python, R, Jupyter, Anaconda, etc. bits, and multi-geo rollouts. Deven: primarily Linux.

3) A senior dev to work on Visual Studio. You'll be working on the PTVS and/or the RTVS (R Tools for Visual Studio) on a variety of features depending on your background & interests: Editor, Intellisense, Debugger, Profiler, ... ; Focus for upcoming release is Data Science. Devenv: Primarily Windows.

If interested please send your resume to: smortaz microsoft. insert at sign and .com

smortaz··on Continuum Analytics Raises $24M Series A for Anaconda Python and PyData
congrats peter & travis! and see you today at pydata seattle :)
smortaz··on Show HN: “Who is hiring?” Map
thanks for doing this. much easier to digest.
smortaz··on How I’d redesign piano sheet music
hmm... i'm confused... 8vb is for lowering an octave. the proposal here is to make both clefs have EGBDFA. ie, the clefs are off by a third - this slides by a 3rd to make them have the same arrangement. ah, actually i think i got what you're saying: ie, just use 8vb and use treble for both. sure that'll work too, tho the A below middle C is kind of popular :), otherwise it'll have to be constantly dotted lined in.
smortaz··on How I’d redesign piano sheet music
agreed, especially for experienced musicians. the point here is that if the notehead carries its sharp/flatness in the shape, just like a notehead carries its duration (quarter vs half), it'll become 2nd nature. if a piece is in F# major, then pretty much most of the keys have an implied sharp... A is not A. it's A#. this way a student doesnt have to constantly remember the key sig & what notes are raised or lowered. sort of like python's explicit > implicit.

as far as note being able to determine the key, that'll still be specified as now - this is an additional visual hint.

smortaz··on How I’d redesign piano sheet music
very nice! my 2c for improving notation are more evolutionary. i see two main issues with sight reading:

1. treble/bass clefs are not consistent: one is EGBDF, the other GBDFA. eg instead of the third line always being a B, it's a B in one & a D in the other!

2. having to remember sharps & flats. ie, despite the note being F, you have to remember that it's not really an F, but in this case an F# or Fb.

the proposal:

1. make the clefs consistent: make them both 6 lines, and both EGDBFA. this means adding an E to bass at the bottom, and an A to the treble on the top. now a student has to remember only one format and note positions are consistent. the third note is always a B regardless of the treble or bass clef.

2. to resolve flat/sharp issue, especially for complex keys with many sharps/flats, use the note's head shape to distinguish. ie, instead of just an oval head to represent a note's pitch, use for example a round note head for a normal G, a square note head for G# and a triangle note head for Gb. that way no matter what the key, your eye can easy and immediately recognize that that G is not in fact a G, but a G# or Gb. after all we already use note shape (solid/hollowness) to indicate duration. why not go a step further and make realtime parsing easier by making the notehead shape indicate sharp/flatness?

smortaz··on R at Microsoft
hi there - it took a while to make our 1st hire, but i'm happy to report that work is underway as part of the Azure ML group. as soon the project has a pulse i'll post on HN. current plan is to have it be free & open source like Python Tools for Visual Studio.

i'm also hiring for the project, so if you're into dev tools (editors, debuggers, profilers, languages, ...) and looking, pls drop me a line. looking for devs and a technical PM.

re R.Net - no effort that i know of.

smortaz··on Python Tools for Visual Studio Now on GitHub
it does. in fact, that is the default recommendation, ie PTVS installed into Community Edition:

https://github.com/Microsoft/PTVS/wiki/PTVS-Installation

smortaz··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (May 2015)
Hi. Both! Though focus for next release++ is data science. Think Python+R in Visual Studio and "Visual Studio Code" (the newly released cross-plat lightweight IDE), w features that are relevant to data scientists and technical computing types.
smortaz··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (May 2015)
Microsoft - Redmond, WA

We have several positions in my team which builds developer tools for programmers and data scientists. Almost everything we do is open source.

3 positions available for building tools for Python & R. Ideal candidate has a background in building IDE's (editors, debuggers, profilers, etc.). 4+ years exp required. The products/environments are: Visual Studio on Windows, VS Code for mac/linux/win. As an example of what we build, see: http://pytools.codeplex.com

2 positions for building an IPython/Jupyter service. Ideal candidate has a background working with similar technologies and/or large scale services. 4+ years relevant exp required. The dev env is Linux, docker, node. As an example, see http://tmpnb.org

1 Intern position available for working on a project related to the above products.

If interested, pls send your resume to smortaz over at microsoft.com.

Thanks!

smortaz··on Understanding .NET 2015
give http://pytools.codeplex.com a try!
smortaz··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (February 2015)
Microsoft - Linux/Docker/IPython devs in Redmond/Seattle, Local or Remote

The Python/R team at Microsoft is building a "Data Studio" service centered around IPython/Jupyter which will be targeted at anyone that needs a decent REPL in the sky (eg Data Scientists and beyond). This will be a cloud/browser based service built on Linux/Docker (not a typo!) I'm looking for experienced backend & frontend dev that can help build this service.

2 positions available - Linux/Docker: 5+ years experience in building scalable web based solutions.

1 position available - IPython/Jupyter: direct experience with IPython/Jupyter internals a big plus.

Full benefits, Linux/Mac dev environment, remote or local (prefered). We are Python/R/OSS fans and want to make the fantastic IPython/Jupyter environment available to everyone.

Interested? Please contact smortaz over at microsoft dot com.

Thanks!

smortaz··on Microsoft acquires Revolution Analytics
great! how about C/C++, eg mixed mode debugging from R <-> C the way PTVS does?
smortaz··on Microsoft acquires Revolution Analytics
R-Studio is a wonderful IDE - kudos to their team. also, if we do this, it'll be free+oss like PTVS. VS itself isnt oss, but at least the pro/community edition is free now.
smortaz··on Microsoft acquires Revolution Analytics
actually that was a fork of PTVS :). we'll look at adding more advanced editing, intellisense, visualization, debugging (cross-lang, cross-OS, ...), etc.
smortaz··on Microsoft acquires Revolution Analytics
yes - i'd love to see native Python & R support in excel as well. they are aware that better scripting support is needed - they just need to hear it from more ppl to make it a priority. i'll point them at this thread meanwhile.
smortaz··on Microsoft acquires Revolution Analytics
thx, tho i've had a hard time getting something to hit the front page to get enough data...

re PTVS/RTVS - the VP behind them is joseph sirosh. he's a huge Python & R fan & just gave us four more reqs to do more (where more == docker+linux+ipython/jupyter - ping if interested!).

re ironruby/ironpython - i hear you. tho note that ironpython at least is alive & well. PTVS itself supports all interpreters. our work is all open source so it helps a little.

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