Request to update AIX maintainers list

[ayappanec]

Dear Maintainers,
I am Ayappan from IBM AIX Toolbox team.
I have been maintaining Python for AIX in recent times. Can my id "ayappanec" also be added under the AIX maintainers section in the experts list ?

[AA-Turner]

I think in general we tend to keep the experts index to core developers. For AIX, David Edelsohn is listed (not a committer), so there is precedent.

Could you elaborate on "maintaining Python for AIX in recent times", please (in effect, do you mean the Python project, or for a paid IBM product)?

A

[ayappanec]

AIX users can get python via AIX Toolbox. Also the recent AIX version , 7.3 has python shipped with the base OS (7.3 release notes). I am managing both of them. (Reference: changelog in the Toolbox SPEC file https://public.dhe.ibm.com/aix/freeSoftware/aixtoolbox/SPECS/python3.9-3.9.19-1.spec)
Also I have been contributing AIX fixes recently so that python continues to build and work in AIX. https://github.com/python/cpython/commits?author=ayappanec

I fully understand the idea behind keeping the experts index to core-developers. My intent here is to only get notified or involve myself with any issues related to python in AIX.

[encukou]

I think in general we tend to keep the experts index to core developers. For AIX, David Edelsohn is listed (not a committer), so there is precedent.

Not really. For most of the sections, it makes sense for the experts to be core devs (or become core devs quickly), but it's not a requirement.
For Platforms specifically, core devs should ideally list their platform in PEP-11 instead of here, so the list should have non-committers. Especially redistributors that have a fork and a patch process and CI all set up, but not even that is a requirement. We have this note:

Platforms listed here are not necessarily supported by CPython. Some of the experts listed here maintain and distribute Python for “their” platform as a third-party project.

This is exactly the case here.

@ayappanec, could you send a PR adding your name?

@AA-Turner, do you want to suggest wording to make this clearer? See also this PR: #1281 (comment)

[JacobCoffee]

FWIW I shipped changes in support of AIX instructions for Python.org recently to close python/pythondotorg#2445