[Python-Dev] python-dev sprint at PyCon

[Phillip J. Eby]

At 10:22 AM 11/1/2005 -0700, Guido van Rossum wrote:
>* PEP 328 - absolute/relative import

I assume that references to 2.4 in that PEP should be changed to 2.5, and 
so on.

It also appears to me that the PEP doesn't record the issue brought up by 
some people about the current absolute/relative ambiguity being useful for 
packaging purposes.  i.e., being able to nest third-party packages such 
that they end up seeing their dependencies, even though they're not 
installed at the "root" package level.

For example, I have a package that needs Python 2.4's version of pyexpat, 
and I need it to run in 2.3, but I can't really overwrite the 2.3 pyexpat, 
so I just build a backported pyexpat and drop it in the package, so that 
the code importing it just ends up with the right thing.

Of course, that specific example is okay since 2.3 isn't going to somehow 
grow absolute importing.  :)  But I think people brought up other examples 
besides that, it's just the one that I personally know I've done.