[Distutils] Proposed new Distutils API for compiler flag detection (Issue26689)

[Sylvain Corlay]

I think that Thomas' proposal makes sense.

I would be ok to also add it to setuptools so that it can be used sooner by
projects that don't require python 3.6.

Sylvain

On Mon, Aug 22, 2016 at 9:23 AM, <tritium-list at sdamon.com> wrote:

> Changing packaging by updating the standard library will fail.  It’s been
> attempted.
>
>
>
> The inherent problem is you need to fix packaging for people already using
> python, which means if you add a feature to the standard library, only the
> people who always run the latest and greatest can ever use the feature.  In
> a world where we are talking about Python 3.6/3.7 and python 2.7 is by far
> the most used version of python (and python usage is split pretty evenly
> between 3.4 and 3.5 IIRC), no one will use new packaging features in the
> standard library.
>
>
>
> Putting something in setuptools means it will actually be used.  I think
> some of the goals of this sig is to be able to completely sunset distutils
> and replace it with much better solutions (plural) that all speak the same
> protocol.
>
>
>
> *From:* Distutils-SIG [mailto:distutils-sig-bounces+tritium-list=
> sdamon.com at python.org] *On Behalf Of *Sylvain Corlay
> *Sent:* Monday, August 22, 2016 2:16 AM
> *To:* Ralf Gommers <ralf.gommers at gmail.com>
> *Cc:* distutils-sig <distutils-sig at python.org>
> *Subject:* Re: [Distutils] Proposed new Distutils API for compiler flag
> detection (Issue26689)
>
>
>
> Hi,
>
> On Sun, Aug 21, 2016 at 10:31 PM, Ralf Gommers <ralf.gommers at gmail.com
> > wrote:
>
>
> On top of that there are technical reasons (don't want to test
> combinations of python + setuptools that both change per release) and
> organizational ones (distutils maintenance is terrible, many simple bugfix
> patches don't get merged for ages, setuptools at least fixes regressions
> quite fast).
>
>
>
> I'm not sure if there's an official policy on adding new things to
> distutils, but if not then this request is a good time to make one.
> Assuming of course that the setuptools devs are willing to merge features
> like the one from Sylvain.
>
>
>
>
>
> I find this worrying that the main arguments to not include a patch would
> be that
>
>
>
>  - this part of the standard library is not very maintained (things don't
> get merged)
>
>  - earlier versions of won't have it
>
>
>
> The former is a bad sign for a standard library and the latter is inherent
> to any new feature. Whether it is a policy or not to not add new features
> to distutils it is clear that a code base that does not evolve is dead.
>
>
>
> How about, instead, we continue improving it?
>
>
>
> Sylvain
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Distutils-SIG maillist  -  Distutils-SIG at python.org
> https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/distutils-sig
>
>
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