Software Engineering Daily

Mamba and Software Package Security with Sylvain Corlay

Jan 23, 2025

Sylvain Corlay, CEO of QuantStack, discusses revolutionary advancements in software package management, particularly with the launch of Mamba 2.0. He highlights Mamba's speed and vendor neutrality, essential for scientific computing. The conversation delves into enhancing software supply chain security, focusing on risks and cryptographic solutions. Sylvain also explores the educational potential of WebAssembly and JupyterLite, illustrating how innovative tools like Mamba can empower future generations in programming and data science.

45:56

Creator website

Episode guests

Sylvain Corlay

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Mamba 2.0 significantly enhances package management efficiency and reliability, serving as a high-performance alternative to the Conda manager.

Vendor neutrality in software package management is crucial for ensuring package authenticity and security amidst increasing regulatory pressures.

Deep dives

Overview of Quantstack and Its Role in Scientific Computing

Quantstack is an open-source technology company dedicated to the scientific computing ecosystem, known primarily for maintaining essential projects like Jupyter, Conda Forge, and Mamba. The team comprises open-source maintainers who work on these key projects, with Jupyter being a focal point of innovation, including features like collaborative editing and visual debugging. Over the years, Quantstack has evolved from a self-employed venture into a consulting model, now employing around 30 individuals across multiple countries, mainly focused on scientific applications. This strong foundation fosters advancements in open-source tools essential for effective and reproducible scientific research.

Intro

4min

Navigating Package Management in Scientific Computing

4min

Mamba 2.0: Revolutionizing Package Management

16min

The Evolution and Naming of Mamba in the Python Ecosystem

2min

Enhancing Software Supply Chain Security with Mamba

4min

Building the Future: WebAssembly and JupyterLite in Education

16min

QuantStack is an open-source technology software company specializing in tools for data science, scientific computing, and visualization. They are known for maintaining vital projects such as Jupyter, the conda-forge package channel, and the Mamba package manager.

Sylvain Corlay is the CEO of QuantStack. He joins the podcast to talk about his company, Conda, Mamba, the new Mamba 2.0 release, software package security, and more.

Gregor Vand is a security-focused technologist, and is the founder and CTO of Mailpass. Previously, Gregor was a CTO across cybersecurity, cyber insurance and general software engineering companies. He has been based in Asia Pacific for almost a decade and can be found via his profile at vand.hk.