[Python-Dev] Python and the Linux Standard Base (LSB)

[Armin Rigo]

Hi Andrew,

On Fri, Dec 01, 2006 at 03:27:09PM +1100, Andrew Bennetts wrote:
> In both the current Debian and Ubuntu releases, the "python2.4" binary package
> includes distutils.

Ah, good.  This must be a relatively recent change.  I'm not a Debian
user, but merely a user that happens to have to use a Debian machine
occasionally.  None of these machines had distutils installed by default
so far, but it looks like things are going to improve in the future
then.

Now I only have to hope that 2.4.4 makes its way out of 'unstable' soon.
As far as I can tell sysadmins installing the current 'testing' would
still be getting a Python 2.4.3, not modern enough to cope with the
arithmetic overflow issues introduced by the cutting-edge GCC of
'testing'.

But it looks like any year now I'll be able to assume that Linux
machines all provide a Python that works as nicely as a freshly compiled
one.


A bientot,

Armin