[Python-Dev] Proposing the deprecation of the pyvenv script

[Terry Reedy]

On 9/19/2015 1:24 AM, Stephen J. Turnbull wrote:
> Barry Warsaw writes:
>
>   > One thing that came up in a similar discussion is pip, and the
>   > suggested move to `python -m pip`, which makes a lot of sense.
>   > However, *inside* a virtualenv, there's no ambiguity about the
>   > Python version associated with direct `pip` invocation, so it still
>   > makes sense to install that there.
>
> And then the poor newbie who's just following orders (eg, in
> mailman3/src/mailman/docs/INSTALL<wink/>) will try pip'ing outside of
> the virtualenv for some reason, and have a WTF experience.  I think we
> should KISS the pip command good-bye.
>
> A somewhat different way I look at it: the OS provides a shell, and
> you invoke aptitude (CLI) or synaptic (from clickety-clickety GUI
> shell) from that OS shell to manage OS packages.  By analogy (always
> slippery but this one feels good to me), to manage python packages you
> should be working in the Python "shell".

It is somewhat possible to do this by importing pip.main and translating 
pip command line calls to main() calls. I reported proof-of-concept 
experiments on issue 23551. To be practical, this should be wrapped in a 
tkinter gui.  Once written, I will add it to the Idle menu.  Other gui 
shells, could and probably would do the same.

> R does it that way with
> great success.  Emacsen do it (with lesser success :-P ).   perl and
> TeX don't -- but they don't have interactive shells (at least not
> universally available to the users).

Am I correct in guessing that on Windows, at least, R and Emacs do *not* 
run in Command Prompt?

-- 
Terry Jan Reedy