Erik Westra has been a professional software developer for over 25 years now, and he has worked almost exclusively in Python for the past decade. Erik's early interest in graphical user interface design led to the development of one of the most advanced urgent courier dispatch systems used by messenger and courier companies worldwide.

In recent years, Erik has been involved in the design and implementation of systems matching seekers and providers of goods and services across a range of geographical areas, as well as real-time messaging and payment systems. This work has included the creation of real-time geocoders and map-based views of constantly changing data. Erik is based in New Zealand, and works for companies worldwide.

Erik is also the author of the titles Python Geospatial Development and Building Mapping Applications with QGIS, both by Packt Publishing.