[Python-Dev] On breaking modules into packages

[Ben Finney]

Antoine Pitrou <solipsis at pitrou.net> writes:

> On Wed, 03 Nov 2010 11:47:55 +1100
> Ben Finney <ben+python at benfinney.id.au> wrote:
> > 
> > > If someone wants to depend on some undocumented detail of the
> > > directory layout it's their problem (like people depending on
> > > bytecode and other stuff).
> > 
> > I would say that names without a single leading underscore are part
> > of the public API, whether documented or not.
>
> That's not what we are talking about; we are talking about their
> locations. If the official location is the unittest package, then I
> don't see why we should also support undocumented locations just
> because they happen to work.

So long as the names available for import are such that they indicate
whether they're public or implementation-detail (i.e. without a leading
single underscore or with one), I agree that this is distinct from the
issue of locations on the filesystem.

> Otherwise we should also support e.g. "unittest.unlink" if the
> unittest package happens to have "from os import unlink" at its top. I
> don't think it's reasonable.

Hmm. That example does give me pause. I'm trying to think of a simple
way that such imports are excluded from being “public interface”, but
can't immediately think of one.

The distinction is clear in my head, though, for what it's worth :-)

-- 
 \        “I don't accept the currently fashionable assertion that any |
  `\       view is automatically as worthy of respect as any equal and |
_o__)                                   opposite view.” —Douglas Adams |
Ben Finney