[Python-Dev] "setuptools has divided the Python community"

[M.-A. Lemburg]

On 2009-03-27 04:19, Guido van Rossum wrote:
> - keep distutils, but start deprecating certain higher-level
> functionality in it (e.g. bdist_rpm)
> - don't try to provide higher-level functionality in the stdlib, but
> instead let third party tools built on top of these core APIs compete

Should this be read as:

- remove bdist_rpm from the stdlib and let it live on PyPI

?

Perhaps I just misunderstand the comment.

I think that esp. the bdist_* commands help developers a lot by
removing the need to know how to build e.g. RPMs or Windows
installers and let distutils deal with it.

The bdist_* commands don't really provide any higher level
functionality. They only provide interfaces to certain packaging
formats commonly used on the various platforms.

Instead of removing such functionality, I think we should add
more support for standard packaging formats to distutils, e.g.
bdist_deb, bdist_pkg, etc.

And for eggs, there should be a standard bdist_egg, written against
the core distutils APIs (*), creating archives which other Python
package managers can then use in whatever way they seem fit.

Just please don't tie eggs to one specific package manager,
e.g. having to install setuptools just to run eggified packages
is just plain wrong. The format itself doesn't require this and
neither should the software shipped with those eggs.

(*) I've had a go at this a few months ago and then found out
that the egg format itself is not documented anywhere. As a result
you have to dig deep into setuptools to find out which files
are needed and where. That's something that needs to change
(Tarek is already working on a PEP for this, AFAIK).

-- 
Marc-Andre Lemburg
eGenix.com

Professional Python Services directly from the Source  (#1, Mar 27 2009)
>>> Python/Zope Consulting and Support ...        http://www.egenix.com/
>>> mxODBC.Zope.Database.Adapter ...             http://zope.egenix.com/
>>> mxODBC, mxDateTime, mxTextTools ...        http://python.egenix.com/
________________________________________________________________________
2009-03-19: Released mxODBC.Connect 1.0.1      http://python.egenix.com/

::: Try our new mxODBC.Connect Python Database Interface for free ! ::::


   eGenix.com Software, Skills and Services GmbH  Pastor-Loeh-Str.48
    D-40764 Langenfeld, Germany. CEO Dipl.-Math. Marc-Andre Lemburg
           Registered at Amtsgericht Duesseldorf: HRB 46611
               http://www.egenix.com/company/contact/