Batavia is an early alpha project. If it breaks, you get to keep all the shiny pieces.

Batavia is an implementation of the Python virtual machine, written in Javascript. It enables you to run Python bytecode in the browser.

It honors Python 3.4 syntax and conventions, but also provides the ability to reference objects and classes defined natively in JavaScript.

To take Batavia for a spin, run through the Getting Started guide, then start with the first tutorial.

If you'd like to contribute to Batavia development, we have a guide for first time contributors.

Documentation for Batavia can be found on Read The Docs.

On 27 October, 1628, Commandeur Francisco Pelsaert took command of the Batavia, and with 340 passengers and crew, set sail from Texel. Their destination? The Spice Islands - or more specifically, island of Java in the Dutch East Indies (now part of Indonesia).

The Batavia was... a Java ship (rimshot!).

Interestingly, during the voyage, Ariaen Jacobsz and onderkoopman Jeronimus Cornelisz incited a mutiny, because they didn't want to go to Java - they wanted to escape to start a new life somewhere else. As a result of the mutiny, on 4 June 1629, the Batavia ran aground on Morning Reef, part of the Houtman Abrolhos, about 450km North of Perth, Western Australia, where this project was conceived.

The full story of the Batavia is known to most Western Australian schoolchildren, and is a harrowing tale of intrigue, savagery, and murder. It serves as a reminder of what can happen when you force people to go to Java :-)

The wreck of the Batavia was recovered in the 1970s, and now stands in the shipwrecks gallery of the Western Australian Maritime Museum.

Batavia is part of the BeeWare suite. You can talk to the community through:

• @pybeeware on Twitter
• The BeeWare Users Mailing list, for questions about how to use the BeeWare suite.
• The BeeWare Developers Mailing list, for discussing the development of new features in the BeeWare suite, and ideas for new tools for the suite.

If you experience problems with Batavia, log them on GitHub. If you want to contribute code, please fork the code and submit a pull request.