[Python-Dev] Python language standard; LSB

[Guido van Rossum]

> one thing that prevents the linux standard base to include Python (or Perl
> for that matter) is that there is no formal language standard with test
> cases. (For the LSB a subset might be enough.)
> http://www.linuxbase.org/futures/faq.html#scope
> 
> Exists there anywhere a rudimentary standard or are there plans to create
> one?

Not really, and not that I'm aware of.  In practice, there's only one
Python implementation that could be used here (Jython doesn't make
sense in this context) so I'm not sure what a standardization effort
would buy us.  It's not like there are lots of diverging Python
distributions, like with Unix or the Linux kernel.  Standardizing on a
version might make sense; I would recommend using the 2.2 line of
releases, starting with 2.2.3 (the latest 2.2 release), until 2.3 is
considered stable.

There is of course a thorough standard test suite for Python
(contained in the test package in the standard library); Jython also
strives to pass this test suite (except for some parts of the test
suite that are platform specific).

Other than that, I expect that including Python in LSB is more a
matter of political will in the LSB committee than anything else.

--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)