Lessons from the Trenches - Rewriting and Re-releasing Virtualenv

Explore the journey of rewriting and re-releasing virtualenv in this 45-minute talk from EuroPython 2020. Discover the challenges faced in maintaining the original 2,700-line single-file project and the decision to start from scratch. Learn about the goals of increasing maintainability, improving performance, and adding new features. Follow the six-month development process from July 2019 to the beta release in January 2020 and the full release in February. Gain insights into the lessons learned during this rewrite, including strategies for managing a large number of open issues and the process of squashing bugs post-release. Understand the complexities involved in modernizing a widely-used Python tool and the benefits of a complete overhaul.