[Python-ideas] Moving development out of the standard library

[Nick Coghlan]

On 09/06/10 22:40, Antoine Pitrou wrote:
> Isn't that "impression" largely constructed, and propagated by a
> limited number of people who apparently don't like the very idea of a
> "batteries included" stdlib?  There has been an amount of anti-stdlib
> activism (including in this thread) that I find both antagonizing and
> unconstructive.  Outside of that vocal minority, there doesn't seem to
> be that much criticism against the stdlib.

The "where modules go to die" version of it is overstated, but the 
standard library definitely evolves more slowly than many third party 
packages.

To use numpy as an example (just going off their SF file dates):
   Dec 2007: 1.0.4
   May 2008: 1.1.0
   Sep 2008: 1.2.0
   Jul 2009: 1.3.0
   Apr 2010: 1.4.1

Faster cycle times allow developers to be much more responsive to 
feedback when changes don't turn out as well as was hoped. The 
comparatively slow evolution of the standard library is the grain of 
truth that underlies the exaggerated form. The trick is to explore 
avenues that make these faster cycle times available to those that want 
them, while still providing a stable foundation for those that need it.

It is exactly this situation that the Ubuntu release cycle is designed 
around: regular 6-monthly releases for most people, less frequent Long 
Term Support releases for those that need stability.

That said, the status quo, with ad hoc porting to PyPI by module 
maintainers that consider doing so to be worthwhile is certainly a 
viable option going forward as well.

Cheers,
Nick.

-- 
Nick Coghlan   |   ncoghlan at gmail.com   |   Brisbane, Australia
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