[Python-Dev] bsddb alternative (was Re: [issue3769] Deprecate bsddb for removal in 3.0)

[Tony Nelson]

At 7:37 AM -0700 9/4/08, C. Titus Brown wrote:
>On Thu, Sep 04, 2008 at 10:29:10AM -0400, Tony Nelson wrote:
 ...
>-> Shipping an application to end users is a different problem.  Such packages
>-> should include a private copy of Python as well as of any dependent
>-> libraries, as tested.
>
>Why?  On Mac OS X, for example, Python comes pre-installed -- not sure
>if it comes with Tk yet, but the next version probably will.  On Windows
>there's a handy few-click installer that installs Tk.  Is there some
>reason why I shouldn't be relying on those distributions??

Yes.  An application is tested with one version of Python and one version
of its libraries.  When MOSX updates Python or some other library, you are
relying on their testing of your application.  Unless you are Adobe or
similarly large they didn't do that testing.  Perhaps you have noticed the
threads about installing a new Python release over the Python that came
with an OS, and how bad an idea that is?  This is the same issue, from the
other side.

>Requiring users to install anything at all imposes a barrier to use.
>That barrier rises steeply in height the more packages (with versioning
>issues, etc.) are needed.  This also increases the tech support burden
>dramatically.
 ...

Precisely why one needs to ship a single installer that installs the
complete application, including Python and any other libraries it needs.
-- 
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