[Python-Dev] "setuptools has divided the Python community"

[Terry Reedy]

Antoine Pitrou wrote:
> Tarek Ziadé <ziade.tarek <at> gmail.com> writes:
>> But I agree that the sizes of the packages are too small now, and it has gone
>> to far. Installing a web app like Plone is scary (+100 packages)
> 
> I am working on a TurboGears2-based app and I just did a count of the .egg
> packages in the virtualenv. There are 45 of them....
> 
> People should really stop splitting their work into micro-libraries (with such
> ludicrous names as "AddOns" or "Extremes", I might add (*)), and myriads of
> separately-packaged plugins (the repoze stuff). The Twisted approach is much
> saner, where you have a cohesive whole in a single package.
> 
> (*) The package descriptions are worth their salt too:
> http://pypi.python.org/pypi/AddOns
> http://pypi.python.org/pypi/Extremes

Thoughts:

1. These are modules, not packages, hence should be relatively small.

2. These are general utilities and have nothing in particular to do with 
peak.

3. If I wanted one of these, I would be happy that they are separately 
indexed and downloadable.

4. If I used one of these in an app, I would include them within the app 
and not have them be separate pieces.

5. Much of this discussion reminds me of the debates between lumping and 
splitting of taxonomic categories in biology.  Like that debate, it will 
continue forever.

Terry Jan Reedy