[Import-SIG] Fwd: Re: Proposal and questions about PEP 420

[Benoît Bryon]

Eric V. Smith wrote :
> Also, I'm not sure how common nested namespace packages are.
They seem common at least in Plone community :

* http://pypi.python.org/pypi?%3Aaction=search&term=plone&submit=search
* http://pypi.python.org/pypi?%3Aaction=search&term=collective&submit=search

Maybe a Plone user (I'm not a Plone user) could tell us more about it...


PJ Eby wrote:
> The proposal itself is intriguing, but it's not only less backward 
> compatible and directory-cluttering, it has some potential for 
> ambiguity in the spec and doesn't seem like a reasonable departure 
> from other languages' conventions in this area.
I have poor knowledge of other languages. I just asked, because I felt 
surprised we are about to create (potentially nested) empty directories 
in order to implement namespaces, then wondered if we could do it with 
only one directory.
That said, my motivation isn't to block or change PEP 420. I was 
wondering why such a solution wasn't at least mentionned in the PEP as 
part of the discussions.


PJ Eby wrote:
> there is rarely a need for deep nesting
+1
I currently don't know a Python package with more than 3 levels (like 
zc.recipe.egg), and I guess that more than 3 levels would be too much.


Martin v. Löwis wrote:
> In Java, people apparently want that because they get these deeply
> nested directory hiearchies (org/apache/commons/betwixt/expression).
> It's apparently possible to condense this into
> org.apache.commons.betwixt/expression (which isn't a shorter string,
> but fewer cd commands / explorer clicks / .svn folders). 
With a maximum of 3 levels, it's not a so big issue. A bit annoying, but 
low priority.


Martin v. Löwis wrote:
> On 13.05.2012 17:33, Guido van Rossum wrote:
>> -1. It would create a very busy toplevel directory. There's a reason
>> people nest directories...
>
> Alas, thanks to egg files, we already have busy toplevel directories,
> which extend into long sys.path lists.
http://pypi.python.org/pypi/collective.recipe.omelette/0.15 seems a fair 
solution for this issue.


Regards,
Benoit