[Python-Dev] PEP 3147, __pycache__ directories and umask

[Antoine Pitrou]

Barry Warsaw <barry <at> python.org> writes:
> 
> When Python is being installed, either by a from-source 'make install' or by
> the distro packager, then you'd expect the umask not to be insane.  In the
> latter case, it's a bug and in the former case you screwed up so you should be
> able to delete and reinstall, or at the very least execute the same `find`
> command that Python's own Makefile calls (in my branch) for 'make clean'.
> 
> When you're installing packages, again, I would expect that the system
> installer, or you via `easy_install` or whatever, would not have an insane
> umask.

Well, precisely. That's why I suggest that creating the __pycache__ directories
be done *at install time* (or packaging time), and not via the core import
machinery (that is, not at import time). That is, when you *know* you are the
right user, with the right umask.

Which also means that it can and probably should be pulled out of the core (and
written in pure Python, which is also much more practical to maintain, test and
debug).

> I don't particularly like this much, because most people won't get the benefit
> of it in a local dev environment.

AFAICT it has no benefit in a local dev environment (apart from supposedly
"cleaner" directories, which is not something anyone seems to consider a problem
with the current CPythons).

And again, this could be part of the distutils standard "setup.py install"
(or "setup.py develop" with distutils2/distribute) if people care :)

Regards

Antoine.