[Python-Dev] PEP 402: Simplified Package Layout and Partitioning

[Vinay Sajip]

Éric Araujo <merwok <at> netwok.org> writes:

> Besides, putting data files in a Python package is held very poorly by
> some (mostly people following the File Hierarchy Standard), and in
> distutils2/packaging, we (will) have a resources system that’s as
> convenient for users and more flexible for OS packagers.  Using __file__
> for more than information on the module is frowned upon for other
> reasons anyway (I talked about a Debian developer about this one day but
> forgot), so I think the limitation is okay.
> 

The FHS does not apply in all scenarios - not all Python code is
deployed/packaged at system level. For example, plug-ins (such as Django apps)
are often not meant to be installed by a system-level packager. This might also
be true in scenarios where Python is embedded into some other application. It's
really useful to be able to co-locate packages with their data (e.g. in a zip
file) and I don't think all instances of putting data files in a package are to
be frowned upon.

Regards,

Vinay Sajip