[Python-ideas] Add a developer mode to Python: -X dev command line option

[M.-A. Lemburg]

On 30.03.2016 09:49, Victor Stinner wrote:
> I propose to add a "development mode" to Python, to get a few checks
> to detect bugs earlier: a new -X dev command line option. Example:
> 
>    python3.6 -X dev script.py
>
> ...
> 
> The scope of the "developer mode" is unclear to me. Many modules (ex:
> asyncio) already have a debug mode. Would it be a bad idea to enable
> *all* debug modes of *all* modules? For example, http.client has a
> debug level: do you expect debug traces of the HTTP client when you
> develop your application?
> 
> IMHO the scope must be well defined: don't modify modules of the
> stdlib, only enable more debug flags in the Python core (warnings,
> unicode, memory allocators, etc.).

I'm not sure whether this would make things easier for the
majority of developers, e.g. someone not writing C extensions
would likely not be interested in debugging memory allocations
or segfaults, someone spending more time on numerics wouldn't
bother with bytes warnings, etc.

I usually use wrappers or custom Python builds for debugging
purposes, which are then specialized for the specific task
I need them for. Those are quick to write and more explicit in
what they enable or not. I wouldn't want to rely on a specific
set of flags which may change from Python release to Python release.

So overall, I guess adding a debug howto of some sort showing
and explaining the purpose of the various options would be more
helpful to developers than a meta-option which triggers some subset
of other available options.

-- 
Marc-Andre Lemburg
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