[Python-Dev] Second draft: PEP397: Python launcher for Windows

[Mark Hammond]

On 23/03/2011 6:12 AM, Michael Foord wrote:
> On 22/03/2011 07:21, Mark Hammond wrote:
>> Hi all,
>> I've made some changes to the draft PEP and checked it into the PEP
>> repository as PEP397. The reference implementation is currently being
>> tracked at http://bugs.python.org/issue11629.
>>
>
> Hey Mark,
>
> One way of supporting alternative implementations (that may not even
> have a standard install directory) is allowing configuration. e.g.
> config.ini
>
> [paths]
> ironpython = c:\Program Files\IronPython 2.7\ipy.exe
> ironpython2.7 = c:\Program Files\IronPython 2.7\ipy.exe
> jython = c:\Users\foobar\jython2.5\jython.exe

Hi Michael,

I'd have no problem with that in general, but how would you feel about 
letting the PEP stand as it is without this additional requirement and 
then treat this as an additional feature to be thrashed out separately? 
  I intentionally worded the PEP to specifically allow these kinds of 
features to be added outside the PEP process.

For example, I guess the name of the INI file wouldn't be config.ini, 
and I guess there might need to be a strategy to allow it to exist in 
multiple places for when users want this feature but don't have write 
access to the location of py.exe.  Then people might want it to be in 
the cwd, or in any parent of the cwd, etc... Further, it might also be 
possible to support this with simple environment variables which might 
wind up being just as (or more) reasonable (the concept of per-user 
environment variables already exist and a UI already exists for editing 
them, and it would allow different cmd-prompts to have different "rules" 
with minimal complexity) - not that I am necessarily advocating this - 
I'd just prefer the PEP to not get bogged down with those kinds of issues.

Cheers,

Mark