[Python-Dev] Namespace collision between lib/xml and site-packages/xml

[Mark Favas]

On July 26 I reported that the new xml package in the standard library
collides with and overrides the xml package from the xml-sig that may be
installed in site-packages. This is still the case. The new package does
not have the same functionality as the one in site-packages, and hence
my application (and others relying on similar functionality) gets an
import error. I understood that it was planned that the new library xml
package would check for the site-package version, and transparently hand
over to it if it existed. It's not really an option to remove/rename the
xml package in the std lib, or to break existing xml-based code...

Of course, this might be fixed by 2.0b1, or is it a feature that will be
frozen out <wry smile>?

Fred's response was:
"  I expect we'll be making the package in site-packages an extension
provider for the xml package in the standard library.  I'm planning to
discuss this issue at today's PythonLabs meeting." 
-- 
Mark