On comp.lang.python, "Juergen A. Erhard" wrote about cursesmodule:

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Why two versions? Did Oliver forget to submit his patches to Guido (et al)? Or did Guido not accept them? If so, why not?

What needs to be done to synchronize the canonical Python and the Python RPMs?

For python-dev readers: Oliver Andrich's Python RPMs contain his enhanced cursesmodule, which supports many ncurses features. The cursesmodule in the Python distribution supports only plain curses. Question: what should be done about this?

The problem is that Oliver's enhanced module probably won't work on systems that support only BSD curses. I haven't verified this, though. On the other hand, ncurses implements the SYSV curses API, and maybe there are no platforms left that only have plain curses.

Options:

1) Forget about it and leave things as they are.

2) Include the ncurses version of the module, backward compatibility be damned.

3) Split the curses module out of the standard distribution, and distribute it separately; users then download the plain or ncurses version as they see fit.

4) Attempt to make patches for Oliver's module that will make it work with plain curses.

I don't like #1; if the code is going to be unmaintained in the future, why leave it in at all? #2 might be OK, if it's the case that the SYSV curses API is widespread these days; is it? I'd be willing to take a crack at #4, but have no idea where I could find a system with only plain curses. (Apparently OpenBSD, at least, includes the old BSD curses as libocurses.)

I vote for #3 -- I have zero interest in curses, and it is probably better off having its own website, Vaults of Parnassus entry, etc., than being in the core and utterly unmaintained. (Also note that long ago, someone gave me patches for support of color curses; there was absolutely no interest, so I haven't integrated them.) Note that we have a similar situation with the BSDDB module: the distribution contains a wrapper for BSDDB 1.85, while someone else maintains a wrapper for Sleepycat's BSDDB 3.x. The reasons for the fork are a bit different there: BSDDB 3.x, while superior, isn't as free as 1.85, so some people must use 1.85 (if they want to use it commercially but don't want to license 3.x from Sleepycat). --Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)