[Python-ideas] Changing the default install location, script versioning (Packages and PEP 370)

[Jesse Noller]

On Wed, Jul 22, 2009 at 6:10 PM, Antoine Pitrou<solipsis at pitrou.net> wrote:
> Jesse Noller <jnoller at ...> writes:
>>
>> Because they're artifacts of a package installed into a version of the
>> interpreter. Sure, "proper docs" will include a Python2.x section
>> *and* the 3.x section; then again, why not only package the 3.x docs
>> with the 3.x package?
>
> That's a good point.
> Incidentally, data files can be installed in the package's directory if
> `package_data` is used in the setup script. Which obviously versions them.
>

Yup; and there's a sticking point - I'm more than willing with some of
this to chalk this up to "bad package maintainers" - but given the
sorry state of python-packaging in general (not disparaging Tarek's
efforts) and the general confusion about the "One True Way to Do It",
I think we need to do *something* to at least mitigate the issues.

That's why I suggested versioning everything into versioned
directories to begin with - sure, this adds a slight problem in that
you have to do a export
"PATH=$PATH:.local/python2.6/bin:local/python3.1/bin" and so on, but I
feel that's a small problem compared to the "what version does this
script apply to?" confusion.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to handle this for people who
are just trying to get something done, and we both know 2.x and 3.x
are going to be sitting alongside one another for some time. People
like those in this thread can easily work around both the $PATH and
the ./local/bin issues - I just disable .local and stick with
virtualenv, but that doesn't help Jim Bob sitting next to me who is a
total newb.

jesse