[Python-Dev] Support of the Android platform

[Ned Deily]

On Dec 10, 2017, at 16:26, Guido van Rossum <gvanrossum at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Dec 10, 2017 12:29, "Brett Cannon" <brett at python.org> wrote:
>> On Sun, 10 Dec 2017 at 06:19 Xavier de Gaye <xdegaye at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> The following note is a proposal to add the support of the Android platform.
>>> [...]
>> While the note from a technical standpoint is interest, Xavier, I don't quite see what needs to be done to support Android at this point. Are you simply asking we add Android API 24 as an official platform? Or permission to add your note to the Misc/ directory? Basically what are you wanting to see happen? :)
> Maybe it should be a PEP?

Yes, I agree there needs to be a PEP for this.  I have conflicting thoughts about formalizing Android support.  On the one hand, it would be nice to have.  But on the other, it does add a large non-zero burden to all core developers and to the release teams, to the minimum extent of trying to make sure that all ongoing changes don't break platform support.  At a minimum a PEP needs to address the minimum platform support requirement outlined in PEP 11 (https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0011/#supporting-platforms).  As long as Xavier is willing to keep supporting the platform, the first requirement, having a core developer, should be met.  But for a platform that, understandably, has as many special requirements as Android does, the second requirement, having a stable buildbot, seems to me to be an absolute necessity, and the PEP needs to address exactly what sort of buildbot requirements make sense here: emulators, SDKs, etc.  Otherwise, we run the risk of ending up with an ongoing maintenance headache and unhappy users, as has been the case in the past with support for other platforms.

--
  Ned Deily
  nad at python.org -- []