[Numpy-discussion] python-numeric in FC4: good idea?

[Robert Kern]

Stephen Walton wrote:
> In my ongoing struggles with FC4, I now find that the Fedora developers
> have put Numeric 23.7 into the core as python-numeric and built pygtk2
> against it, so the latter has a dependency on the former.
> 
> I think this is a bad idea unless the core developers are going to
> include ATLAS and build Numeric against it.  After all, this community
> and the Scipy one have gone to great lengths to optimize ATLAS and build
> Numeric and numarray (and presumably the new scipy core) against it. 
> But I'm probably not going to convince the Redhat folks on my own.
> 
> So, questions are:  can someone more familiar with pygtk2 than me tell
> me what parts of it depend on Numeric and why?  Can we start a campaign
> to put ATLAS into Fedora Core if Numeric is going to be there too?

It's for returning a Numeric array from a pixbuf. Strictly speaking,
it's optional, but it looks like the package maintainers decided to
compile it in for FC4.

Can you make an RPM of python-numeric compiled against ATLAS and install
it yourself? Or can you install Numeric yourself and make a dummy
package to tell RPM that yes, indeed, Numeric is installed? I'm terribly
unfamiliar with Fedora and RPM; I've always prefered Debian.

-- 
Robert Kern
rkern at ucsd.edu

"In the fields of hell where the grass grows high
 Are the graves of dreams allowed to die."
  -- Richard Harter