[Python-ideas] Lib vs ( App | Project | ... )

[Thomas Güttler]

Am 17.05.2016 um 15:20 schrieb Nick Coghlan:
> On 17 May 2016 at 21:09, Thomas Güttler <guettliml at thomas-guettler.de> wrote:
>> This blog post from Donald Stufft explains the difference between
>> a Library and a Application.
>>
>>    https://caremad.io/2013/07/setup-vs-requirement/
>>
>>
>> The term "Library" is well known - ok
>>
>> But how to call the container for the libraries, the one thing providing the
>> environment?
>>
>> Donald Stufft uses the term "Application"
>>
>> I would like an official term defined by the python docs.
>
> Covering general principles of software engineering and the many and
> varied terms used for different kinds of software aggregation is *way*
> outside the scope of the Python language and standard library docs :)

AFAIK there can only be **one** sitecustomize.py. I think the docs
should be able to have a term for the thing which contains/provides this file.
The current vacuum gets filled with a lot of different terms meaning the same
thing. This does not hurt, but still I **feel** it would help to have an
agreement on a term.


> The closest we get is the PyPA/distutils-sig consensus that software
> is developed by and as projects (covering libraries, applications, and
> assorted other endeavours):
> https://packaging.python.org/en/latest/glossary/#term-project

Thank you Nick, for providing this link. I hope your are not the author
of this text. This is no definition according to my point of view.
I read it, and don't get it. Example: I think "django" is a
project according to this definition. But I search a term
for the thing containing:

  settings.py
  sitecustomize.py
  logging-config, ....


> The install_requires vs requirements.txt question is covered as its
> own topic, without introducing any particular terminology:
> https://packaging.python.org/en/latest/requirements/

It is hard to cover the meaning of requirements.txt if there
is no common term to name the container which contains it :-)

The above link calls it "complete python environment".

Up to now I found these terms:

   - Project https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.8/ref/applications/#projects-and-applications
   - Application https://caremad.io/2013/07/setup-vs-requirement/
   - site https://docs.python.org/3/library/site.html
   - complete python environment https://packaging.python.org/en/latest/requirements/

I guess there are more. "Standards are great: Everyone should have one"

Is this the way you want it to be?

I see no agreement on the name for the concrete installation holding all those nice python libraries.

Regards,
   Thomas Güttler


-- 
Thomas Guettler http://www.thomas-guettler.de/