[Python-ideas] Rename time module to "posixtime"

[Alexander Belopolsky]

On Wed, Jun 16, 2010 at 7:25 AM, Antoine Pitrou <solipsis at pitrou.net> wrote:
> On Wed, 16 Jun 2010 11:59:20 +0200
> "M.-A. Lemburg" <mal at egenix.com> wrote:
>> Antoine Pitrou wrote:
>> > On Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:03:06 -0700
>> > Brett Cannon <brett at python.org> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> I agree with this sentiment. The UNIX timestamp stuff should stay in
>> >> time, the time tuple stuff should just go, and datetime should be
>> >> fleshed out to handle all the stuff that is not a direct wrapping
>> >> around libc. That way people deal with accurate datetimes as well as
>> >> well understood concepts with UNIX timestamps and datetime objects.
>> >
>> > Agreed.
>> >
>> > What? We all agree?
>>
>> I don't :-)
>>
>> We've done the stdlib reorg already, now it's time to focus on
>> improving what's there, not removing things.

I don't either. :-)

I am not proposing to eliminate any functionality.  My proposal is
primarily driven by the desire to untangle low level circular
dependency between time and datetime modules and to clarify the
purpose of keeping functionality in time module that duplicates that
in datetime.

Another part of my proposal is to provide pure python implementation
for time module functions in terms of datetime API.  This will serve
as both executable documentation and best practices guide.  (Assuming
the best practice is to use datetime module exclusively.)

Let me repeat the three step proposal:

1. Create posixtime.py initially containing just  "from time import *"
2. Add python implementation of time.* functions to posixtime.py.
3. Rename time module to _posixtime and add time.py with a deprecation
warning and "from _posixtime import *".

I would not mind keeping time.py indefinitely with or without
deprecation warnings.