[Distutils] PEP 439 and pip bootstrap updated

[Richard Jones]

On 11 July 2013 06:50, Paul Moore <p.f.moore at gmail.com> wrote:
> I think "python -m pip" should be the canonical form (used in documentation,
> examples, etc). The unittest module has taken this route, as has timeit.
> Traditionally, python-dev have been lukewarm about the -m interface, but its
> key advantage is that it bypasses all the issues around versioned
> executables, cross-platform issues, the general dreadfulness of script
> wrappers on Windows, etc, in one fell swoop.

"python -m pip" does make the bootstrapping a more complex proposition
- the stdlib would have to have something called "pip" that could be
overridden (while it is actually *running*) by something installed in
site-packages. Not easy.

Thanks everyone for your brilliant feedback and discussion - I look
forward to being able to say something sensible about Windows in the
PEP :-)


     Richard