[Python-Dev] request for comments - standardization of python's purelib and platlib

[Brett Cannon]

Please do not cross-post to python-dev. This discussion has been taken
to the distutils SIG.

On Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 17:59, David Lyon<david.lyon at preisshare.net> wrote:
>
> Hi Tarek,
>
> What is needed is to remove/refactor the hardcoding of paths that
> currently exists within distutils and replace it with the ability to
> override the defaults via configuration files. (distutils.cfg?)
>
> If there's one thing that's certain for the future, its that
> python will go onto more platforms. Using different paths.
>
> When people are complaining about paths being hard-coded into
> distutils and it causing angst, I think that their complaints are
> valid.
>
> I can find posts going back to 2004 for windows users complaining
> about exactly the same thing. So it isn't a new issue. The problem
> applies to both linux and windows.
>
> Anyway.. do you know the code that we're talking about?
>
> David
>
>
> On Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:02:03 +0200, Tarek Ziadé <ziade.tarek at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>> On Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 9:22 PM, Brett Cannon<brett at python.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 11:23, Jan Matejek <jan.matejek at novell.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hello,
>>>>
>>>> I'm cross-posting this to distributions at freedesktop and python-dev,
>>>> because the topic is relevant to both groups and should be solved in
>>>> cooperation.
>>>>
>>>> The issue:
>>>>
>>>> In Python's default configuration (on linux), both purelib (location
> for
>>>> pure python modules) and platlib (location for platform-dependent
> binary
>>>> extensions) point to $prefix/lib/pythonX.Y/site-packages.
>>>> That is no good for two main reasons.
>>>>
>>>> One, python depends on the "lib" directory. (from distro's point of
>>>> view, prefix is /usr, so let's talk /usr/lib) Due to this, it's
>>>> impossible to install python under /usr/lib64 without heavy patching.
>>>> Repeated attempts to bring python developers to acknowledge and rectify
>>>> the situation have all failed (common argument here is "that would mean
>>>> redesign of distutils and huge parts of whatnot").
>>>
>>> This is now Tarek's call, so this may or may not have changed in terms
> of
>>> what the (now) distutils maintainer thinks.
>>>
>>
>> I don't recall those repeated attempts , but I've been around for less
>> than two years.
>>
>> You are very welcome to come in the Distutils-SIG ML to discuss these
>> matters.
>> I'm moving the discussion there.
>>
>> Among the proposals you have detailed, the sharedir way seems like the
>> most simple/interesting
>> one (depending on you answer to Brett's question )
>>
>>
>> Regards
>> Tarek
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