[Python-Dev] Release manager pronouncement needed: PEP 302 Fix

[Georg Brandl]

Phillip J. Eby wrote:

>>sys.path_importer_cache is quite an internal thing
> 
> Whose behavior is documented in a PEP.

Correct.

>>  and
>>most code, even import hooks, shouldn't have to deal with it.
> 
> That doesn't make it unimportant.  It's a visible change in specified 
> behavior between Python versions -- precisely the sort of thing that makes 
> people mad at us renegade cowboy Python-dev hackers changing their language 
> for no apparent reason.  The strftime thing that recently got hashed to 
> death here was also an "internal thing" which "most code shouldn't have to 
> deal with".
> 
> This is precisely how these kinds of problems happen.
> 
> So, this needs to either be documented in the What's New document and PEP 
> 302 at a minimum, or it needs to be reverted, unless somebody wants to 
> bless the feature addition to fix it.

I agree with you (now). ;)

> I'm willing to write code that makes it PEP 302 compliant, if the release 
> manager will bless such an addition.  But if that's not acceptable, then 
> somebody needs to produce the necessary documentation updates or revert the 
> patch.

A possible third option would be to store the information "this is an invalid
path" somewhere else, that is, an internal dictionary only available to
import.c.

I will write up docs and update the PEP in any case, if the release manager
agrees.

Georg