[Python-Dev] disable writing .py[co]

[Barry A. Warsaw]

>>>>> "MvL" =3D=3D Martin v L=F6wis <martin@v.loewis.de> writes:

    MvL> No need is real. The specific requirement comes from

    MvL> http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=3D96111

    MvL> where a user complains that mailman writes into /usr (writing
    MvL> actually failed, but a Secure Linux kernel detected the
    MvL> problem, and the user wants to silence the warning,
    MvL> implementing some policy).

    MvL> It turns out that this is Python trying to write .pyc
    MvL> files. It would be desirable to turn pyc generation
    MvL> completely off for mailman. This could be done best through
    MvL> actually modifying the mailman source code. Setting an
    MvL> environment variable is less convenient, as you then have to
    MvL> find all places where mailman scripts are invoked, or have to
    MvL> wrap all mailman scripts.

That particular bug is because the debian package isn't/wasn't
complete.  In a from-source installation of Mailman, we do indeed run
compileall.py on all the Python files.  From skimming the debian bug
report, it looks like they fixed their post-install script to do the
same.

-Barry