[Python-Dev] Bootstrap script for package management tool in Python 2.7 (Was: Re: [Distutils] At least one package management tool for 2.7)

[Tarek Ziadé]

On Mon, Mar 29, 2010 at 11:02 AM, anatoly techtonik <techtonik at gmail.com> wrote:
[..]
> distutils is not a `package management` tool, because it doesn't know
> anything even about installed packages, not saying anything about
> dependencies.

At this point, no one knows anything about installed packages at the
Python level.
Keeping track of installed projects is a feature done within each
package managment system.

And the whole purpose of PEP 376 is to define a database of what's
installed, for the sake of interoperability.

>
> `pip` and `distribute` are unknown for a vast majority of Python
> users, so if you have a perspective replacement for `easy_install` -

Depending on how you call a Python user, I disagree here. Many people
use pip and distribute.

The first one because it has an uninstall feature among other things.
The second one because it fixes some bugs of setuptools and provides
Python 3 support


>
> For now there are two questions:
> 1. Are they stable enough for the replacement of user command line
> `easy_install` tool?
> 2. Which one is the recommended?
>
> P.S. Should there be an accessible FAQ in addition to ML?

This FAQ work has been started in th "HitchHicker's guide to
Packaging" you can find here:

http://guide.python-distribute.org

[..]
> No. To get something in 2.7 I would refrain from developing into this
> direction for now.
>
>> [..]
>>> So, do we need a PEP for that? How else can I know if consensus is
>>> reached? Anybody is willing to elaborate on implementation?
>>
>> I see two paths here:
>> 1 - do you want to define a general mechanism for Python to install scripts ?
>> 2 - are you just suggesting to have this mechanism only for Package Managers ?
>
> 3 - I want current "best practice" for installing Python modules with
> dependencies from PyPI to be shipped with Python 2.7 by default

Again, any new code work will not happen because 2.7 is due in less
than a week. Things are happening in Distutils2.

Now, for the "best practice" documentation, I think the guide is the
best plce to look at.


[..]
> PEP 376 is completely irrelevant to user side boot package proposal.

It is, since it proposes an uninstall script called via -m. So having
a install script called by -m is definitely its business.


> My vision is that decision about having bootstrap package or not in
> 2.7 should be in python-dev and specific packaging, implementation and
> pip/distutils/distribute questions in distutils-sig.

If the mentioned bootstrap script is about a package managment system,
you should keep the discussion in distutils-SIG I think.

Regards
Tarek

-- 
Tarek Ziadé | http://ziade.org