[Distutils] People want CPAN

[Tarek Ziadé]

On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 2:48 PM, David Cournapeau <cournape at gmail.com> wrote:
>> If you want to have install options for your command, and if your
>> command is about "installing",
>
> I did not say my command was about installing - it does not install
> anything. To be complete, we do not use this in build_clib, but in
> build_src , to generate pkg-config-like files (build_src is a
> numpy.distutils-specific command to build source files, for example
> automatically generated wrappers around fortran libraries, and is
> typically run before any other build_ command)
>

But you call it with "install" in your example, meaning that is is
called at install time, right ?

Or it is just that you want to get the "--prefix" value finalized and
computed by the install
command. If it's the later, I guess you will be able to use the
upcoming "sysconfig" module,
that gives you the install schemes, depending on sys.prefix/sys.exec_prefix.

And I will probably add a way to override those prefix, meaning that
you will be able to
get from your command all install paths depending on a root prefix.

If not, it means that you are doing a post or pre install step during
installation.
e.g. like RPM's pre/post commits hooks.


>>
>> For build_clib, if you need to build something, it goes in the
>> build_dir, or in place., and this is not impacted
>> by the install command.
>
> That's exactly the problem. build + install description is too
> simplistic for complex builds: you often need to know install options
> at build time. You need to know some build options when building
> configuration files, you need to pass configuration options to other
> subsequent steps, etc...

Sorry, I can see it yet, it still fuzzy. Does that mean your binary
distribution will not be relocatable ?
e.g. meaning that once you have done your build for a given --prefix,
it won't be installable anywhere else ?

In that case you would need to remove the --prefix option from
install, and have it on your build
command.

Sounds like a pre/post install hook but I am not sure.

>> This is similar to getting the command, (instanciate it + finalize it
>> if it doesn't exists yet)
>> and return a finalized option.
>
> This does not solve the issue IMHO. Since we both seem to like
> thinking about use-cases, consider this use-case: you have a python
> package with a complex extension built with make (say you have a
> build_make command which calls a makefile). How do you do it ? How to
> communicate path informations, compiler options between make and
> distutils ? How to handle relinking (changing rpath at install time) ?

I don't know for the first part. I have to try it out. Can you provide
me such an extension ?

For the relinking at installation time problem, it is obvious that
something can be done.
we could have a pre/post install option where an arbitrary command could be
launch, as an install subcommand.

pre: works on the build_dir built by install or a previous build.
post: works on the installed file list

[..]
>> If you are willing to spend some time in that, I am the guy who can
>> commit your patches in Python.
>
> I will try to prepare a couple of patches against the hg repo this WE,

yeah, thanks ! \o/

Tarek