[Python-Dev] Python Package Management Roadmap in Python Releases

[David Lyon]

On Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:38:26 -0700, Brett Cannon <brett at python.org> wrote:
> But that assumes you can get your tool into the stdlib. 

No I'm not assuming that I can. I am actually assuming that I cannot..

So lets move forward..

> It would have been
> better to phrase the question as "is there interest in having a package
> manager tool included with Python" rather than ask us out of the blue
what
> GUI you should use.

ok - but I think I know the answer to that.. you answer it next.

> David, you are making a huge leap here thinking that we even want a
package
> manager in the stdlib. 

Well - who is 'we'? If it's python-dev people I can accept and respect
that.

If it's regular developers out there in developer land, I'm not so sure
about your assertion. I'd even politely have to disagree from my
experience.

> You did not ask about menu shortcuts but whether a
> package manager should be written using Tk or a web front-end. 

I was thinking about the issue on the fly...

Menu shortcuts that link off to a a standard community web page
would be an excellent compromise - in the case where some tool
could not be added.

That would be a tremendous improvement for windows users over
what they are given at the moment.

> Then you
> start discussing about wanting to add some UI to package management by
> default on Windows or add some tool that sounds like what the EU is going
> to
> have MS stick in front of users to get new user by browsers. This extends
> beyond adding some shortcut the Windows installer adds to someone's
> machine.

That's going further than what I'm saying..

> I realize you are trying to help, David, but you are going in the wrong
> direction here and pushing rather hard. 

On the counter side, others are pushing rather hard for 0 improvement
for the windows platform for the user experience. While everything else
on windows rushes ahead..

My direction is improving the developer experience for windows users. I
can't do compiler writing. I'm not clever enough.

> At the language summit we discussed
> opening up some APIs in distutils about making it easier for people to
> write
> package management tools, but we don't have a burning desire to get into
> the
> tool business. 

ok - but nothing happened there...

I'm not in the tools business either. I'm not doing it for money but
that shouldn't be the point.

> We make a language here. Distutils exists as a bootstrap
> mechanism for the package story and for our own building needs of the
> stdlib. 

I accept that it's a tool for building stdlib. No debate.

> But I doubt I am the only core developer who has no interest to be
> in charge of a package management tool when there already exists several
> good ones out there that people seem to find on their own without issue.

umm.. I disagree with the 'without issue' statement. I'm sure if I tralled
the mailing lists I could find more than one.. 

Enough from me for now. Thanks Brett.

David