[Python-Dev] Issues with Py3.1's new ipaddr

["Martin v. Löwis"]

> This argument makes no sense. The feasibility of removing the library
> does not depend on the severity of the issues found within it. Either
> it is hard to remove the library, or it is easy. If it's hard to
> remove, it doesn't get any easier because I discover a fatal flaw.

We could remove it, but then what we have wouldn't really be a release
candidate anymore, so the release would get delayed.

> I've actually provided several examples of where the library fails
> when used in common scenarios, yet your solution involves incremental
> hacks that don't fix the underlying problems. You write as if you have
> a vested interest in releasing the library -- why?

I have a vested interest in releasing Python 3.1, and in sticking to
decisions that have been made by other committers. I trust these fellow
committers, so I defend their decisions.

I personally have no plans for using this library, or any other IP
address library (at least not in any application I plan to write soon).
At the moment, I'm struggling more with IP address libraries in Perl.

> There are other missing features, but again, my concern is not about
> missing features: it's about a quirky API that conflates concepts in
> the problem domain, leading to subtle bugs and breaking the principle
> of least surprise.

I believe the API appears more quirky to you than it actually is,
probably because you don't have understood it fully (but I might
be wrong with that, and there might be a different reason).

Regards,
Martin