1. What is the plan for PyPI when Python 3.0 comes out and dependencies start getting satisfied from distribution across the great divide, e.g. a 3.0-specific package pulls from PyPI a 2.x-specific package to meet some need? Are there plans to fork PyPI, apply special tags to uploads or what?
I don't see the need to for PyPI. For packages (or "distributions", to avoid confusion with Python packages), I see two options: a) provide a single release that supports both 2.x and 3.x. The precise strategy to do so might vary. If one is going for a single source version, have setup.py run 2to3 (or perhaps 3to2). For dual-source packages, have setup.py just install the one for the right version; setup.py itself needs to be written so it runs on both versions (which is easy to do). b) switch to Python 3 at some point (i.e. burn your bridges). You seem to be implying that some projects may release separate source distributions. I cannot imagine why somebody would want to do that.
2. There have been attempts over the years to fix distutils, with the last one being in 2006 by Anthony Baxter. He stated that a major hurdle was the strong demand to respect backward compatibility and he finally gave up.
Can you kindly refer to some archived discussion for that?
One of the purposes of Python 3.0 was the freedom to break backward compatibility for the sake of "doing the right thing". So is it now permissible to give distutils a good reworking and stop letting compatibility issues hold us back?
I don't know what the proposed changes are, but for some changes; in general, I feel that the need for backwards compatibility is exaggerated. Regards, Martin