[Python-Dev] PEP 376 and PEP 302 - allowing import hooks to provide distribution metadata

[Nick Coghlan]

Tarek Ziadé wrote:
> 2009/7/5 P.J. Eby <pje at telecommunity.com>:
>>  If you want a
>> clearer name, '.pydist' or some such would at least be reasonably specific.
>>  (It'd still have a backward compatibility problem, but at least then
>> there'd be some benefit to the name change.)
> 
> I do find "DIST_NAME.metadata" well-named and specific. But I guess that's just
> bikeshedding :)

pydist has the advantage of both being more intuitive than 'egginfo'
while still making it clear that this is Python related metadata rather
than, say, something added by an OS packaging utility. So no, I don't
think it's bikeshedding:

'metadata': accurate but generic. Not clear that it relates to Python
specifically (except that it happens to stored in a Python related
directory)

'egginfo': accurate, specific and serves as a good mnemonic. However,
use of the 'egg' jargon means that someone is unlikely to guess what it
means without being told, and it's less obvious that this is Python related

'pydist': accurate, specific and without the disadvantages of the 'egg'
jargon

PJE points out that existing tools (setuptools, pip, etc) won't be
compatible with the new format at all if it uses a new name, but I am
having trouble seeing that as a *bad* thing. By using a new name for the
directory we *guarantee* that old packaging utilities won't get confused
by the new format (they simply won't acknowledge its existence).

So +1 for pydist as the directory extension in PEP 376 (for the above
reasons).

Cheers,
Nick.

-- 
Nick Coghlan   |   ncoghlan at gmail.com   |   Brisbane, Australia
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