[python-committers] Re: Requiring PEPs to add/remove modules in the stdlib (and dropping the concept of "provisional")

On Tue, Mar 22, 2022 at 04:26:57PM -0700, Brett Cannon wrote:

1. Update PEP 2 to say a PEP is necessary to add a module to the stdlib
2. Update PEP 4 to say that a PEP is necessary to deprecate/remove a module

Does that include modules flagged as private?

E.g. the public interface is weakref but there is also a _weakref module.

Maybe we want to keep tighter control over the top level stdlib modules (such as _weakref) but I hope that what happens inside a package is considered internal to the package, e.g. concurrent.futures._base.

If we are discussing these issues, how about refactoring a single file module to a package, with no change to the API? E.g.

# Before hovercraft.py

# refactor to hovercraft/__init__.py hovercraft/_privatestuff.py

-- Steve