PyDev of the Week: Sanskar Jethi

This week we welcome Sanskar Jethi (@sansyrox) as our PyDev of the Week! Sanskar is the author of Robyn, a super fast Python web framework with a runtime written in Rust. Sanskar is also the creator of Starfyre, a package for building reactive frontends with Python.

If you’d like to catch up with Sanskar, you can find him on Medium.

Let’s spend some time getting to know Sanskar better!

Can you tell us a little about yourself (hobbies, education, etc):

Hey! ????

My name is Sanskar. I was born and raised in New Delhi, India, and work in London. I work as a Software Engineer at Bloomberg during the mornings and as a Free and Open Source developer at Robyn during the nights. When I am not in front of my PC, I enjoy lifting heavy circles and chasing the pump at the gym. I am an avid reader and love discussions on the topics of philosophy, business, and technology. You call me a ‘Philosopher-Coder-Athlete’ – or, you know, Sanskar for short.

Why did you start using Python?

In 2016, I decided to explore Python due to its striking similarities to JavaScript. Although the indentation-based syntax was initially a hurdle, my real dive into the language began when I embarked on a project called SUSI. That was the turning point, where I grew a deep affinity for Python.

What other programming languages do you know and which is your favorite?

Currently, my work involves Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, and Rust. Despite the stiff competition between JavaScript (not TypeScript!) and Rust, Python still reigns supreme as my absolute favorite.

What projects are you working on now?/h2>

At present, my primary focus lies on two Python packages – Robyn and Starfyre.

Robyn is a high-performance, community-driven, innovator-friendly web framework with a Rust runtime.

Starfyre, on the other hand, is a Python framework designed specifically for crafting reactive front-end applications.

Which Python libraries are your favorite (core or 3rd party)?

Apart from Robyn and Starfyre(haha), a Python library that has recently piqued my interest is `pysnooper`. This unique library aids in debugging by providing a detailed view of variables in scope alongside the output – a feature that I find invaluable.

What is the origin story behind Robyn web framework?

It was April 2021 and I was in my final year of university. I was supposed to be working on my final project, but Reddit distracted me. Around that time, a major tech company announced their adoption of Rust for one of their projects, leading to a flood of “Rewriting Everything in Rust” memes on the platform.

I was working on a personal project with a Flask backend at the time and was frustrated by the lack of async support in Flask. I had tried using Quart and FastAPI before, but they weren’t as widely used. That’s when I decided to see if I could create a version of Flask with async support

Since Rust was gaining so much traction, I decided to try making Robyn in Rust. Much to my surprise, my first benchmark showed that Robyn outperformed many other Python frameworks. And thus, Robyn was born.

Why do you think others should try Robyn over Django or FastAPI?

Robyn is a High-Performance, Community-Driven, and Innovator Friendly Web Framework with a Rust runtime.

Robyn excels in environments that demand rapid development of a Python web backend, yet hold scalability as a crucial requirement. Its design philosophy caters to developers who appreciate a flexible framework with essential functionalities pre-built, but also want the liberty to customize as per their unique needs. Robyn is especially suitable for web applications where developers value simplicity in implementation while retaining the ability to conduct complex operations. Its robustness and flexibility make it a perfect fit for both straightforward and complex web application development.

Thanks so much for doing the interview, Sanskar!