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

[Jack Jansen]

On 28-nov-2006, at 22:05, Guido van Rossum wrote:

> On 11/28/06, Barry Warsaw <barry at python.org> wrote:
>> There's a related issue that may or may not be in scope for this
>> thread.  For distros like Gentoo or Ubuntu that rely heavily on their
>> own system Python for the OS to work properly, I'm quite loathe to
>> install Cheeseshop packages into the system site-packages.
>
> I wonder if would help if we were to add a vendor-packages directory
> where distros can put their own selection of 3rd party stuff they
> depend on, to be searched before site-packages, and a command-line
> switch that ignores site-package but still searches vendor-package.
> (-S would almost do it but probably suppresses too  much.)

+1.

We've been running into this problem on the Mac since Apple started  
shipping Python.

There's another standard place that is searched on MacOS: a per-user  
package directory ~/Library/Python/2.5/site-packages (the name "site- 
packages" is a misnomer, really). Standardising something here is  
less important than for vendor-packages (as the effect can easily be  
gotten by adding things to PYTHONPATH) but it has one advantage:  
distutils and such could be taught about it and provide an option to  
install either systemwide or for the current user only.
--
Jack Jansen, <Jack.Jansen at cwi.nl>, http://www.cwi.nl/~jack
If I can't dance I don't want to be part of your revolution -- Emma  
Goldman