[Python-Dev] PEP 365 (Adding the pkg_resources module)

[Guido van Rossum]

Phillip asked me to give an opinion on his pkg_resources PEP. While
the PEP is short and sweet, the pkg_resources module itself is huge
(1800 non-blank lines; 16 classes plus 5 exceptions; it exports 67
names in total according to __all__). And pkg_resources.txt is another
1700 lines of documentation. I find that hard to swallow. Is there
anyone besides Phillip who can claim he understands this module?

If its inclusion is really meant just as a bootstrap to simplify
installing other package management solutions, as the PEP claims, I
would prefer to see something with a much smaller footprint. Surely
there is no need for example to have support for C extensions inside
zip files *as part of the bootstrap module*?

Unless I find someone besides Phillip who is interested in having this
included and is willing to help maintain it, I don't really think it
would be wise to accept this into the standard library.

Phillip, in the PEP you mention that there are several other package
management tools that also like to use pkg_resources. Maybe you can
get some folks from those tools to speak up and explain what
pkg_resources means to them, and maybe even volunteer to co-own it
once it's in the standard library?

-- 
--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)