[Python-Dev] Raising objections (was: setuptools in the stdlib)

[Fredrik Lundh]

Anthony Baxter wrote:

> I'm not sure how people would prefer this be handled. I don't think we
> need to have a PEP for it - I don't see PEPs for ctypes, elementtree,
> pysqlite or cProfile, either.

That's because they're all trivial building blocks, not all-consuming world
views.  Any programmer who's ever used a C compiler/linker, xml loader,
or embedded database will understand how to use them, and what they
do, right from the start.  There's not a trace of "you don't need to under-
stand this" or "won't anybody think of the newbies!" in any of them.

They're also all relatively close to the simplest thing that could possibly
work.

setuptools, in contrast, appears to be an overengineered kitchen sink
with tons of magic in-phillips-head-only features, all of which may have
unforseen effects on all parts of your Python installation.  I've skimmed
the PEAK documentation, and all I find is bullet-point feature lists and
endless lists of configuration options.  It's like reading Microsoft
documentation.

</F>