Python Light Revisted?

[Ramza Brown]

Steve M wrote:
> I agree with you in part and disagree in part.
> 
> I don't see the point to making the distribution any smaller. 10MB for
> the installer from python.org, 16MB for ActiveState .exe installer. How
> is 5MB "lightweight" while 10MB isn't? The Windows XP version of Java
> at java.com is 16+ MB, and the .NET framework is, well, I don't know
> how big, but I doubt it's much less than 10MB.
> 
> Also I think it's a terrible idea to distribute without pieces of the
> standard library if the distribution is meant to be developed against
> for arbitrary applications. (If you just want a slimmed down Python for
> one specific application, use py2exe - I think it only includes
> whatever gets imported for your program to run.) And excluding zip
> while including Twisted? I don't get it. Besides, how do you know
> Twisted doesn't import XML-RPC? I could see an enlarged Python that
> includes Twisted along with the standard library, and in fact
> ActiveState's includes win32 stuff. There's another such
> mega-distribution around, the name of which escapes me at the moment.
> But removing zip from the standard library so you can save 20kb seems
> foolish. (Again, unless it is for one specific application, in which
> case py2exe should do the trick, although I could be wrong about that
> since I've never used it.)
> 
> Now, what I do agree with is a Python that can be run from a folder
> without having to be installed on the system. That could have lots of
> benefits, if the details with pythonpath and whatever could be sorted
> out. For example I haven't upgraded to 2.4 yet because I have 20
> different packages (e.g. SOAPpy, ZODB, whatever)  installed on WinXP,
> many of which required me selecting my 2.3 installation when I
> installed them. I have no idea what will happen to all those if I run
> the ActiveState installer for 2.4. I seem even to remember reading that
> I have to un-install 2.3 before installing 2.4. I don't want to
> re-install those 20 packages. Anyway I haven't had time to research it
> and it isn't pressing, even though I'd like to start trying decorators
> and generator expressions.
> 
Also, py2exe will work '100%' without a host python install.  I have 
never used it.  I have my doubts though?

-- 
Ramza from Atlanta
http://www.newspiritcompany.com