PyXML XPath and XSLT Re: [XML-SIG] Mass assignment of 4Suite bug reports

[Uche Ogbuji]

> I just assigned all the unassigned bug reports categorized as "4Suite"
> to Uche.  Mostly so they'd have a better chance at getting noticed.
> 
> Uche, feel free to re-assign them to someone more appropriate if there
> is someone better for the report, or knowledgable with the code and
> having (relatively) free cycles.

I think we can remove the 4Suite category from the PyXML bug roster.  Now 
4Suite has an SF project and bug tracker of its own.

But anyway, looking at those bugs, some of them are actually bugs about the 
4XPath and 4XSLT in PyXML.

Which, since we have an impending release, is probably a good topic for 
discussion.

These modules have been broken a good long while, and they lag 4XPath and 
4XSLT in 4Suite woefully.  There are aspects of the 4Suite code base that 
makes it unsuitable for PyXML.  For one thing, we only support Python 2.1 and 
up now.  For another, I think we used some C modules that Martin felt were too 
much to dump into PyXML.

So it looks like time for a clean fork of the code bases.  This means that we 
need a maintainer for the fork in PyXML.  I am happy to help, but I can't do 
it on my own.

So if there is anyone who could work as co-maintainer with me, great.  We 
could maybe even back-port some of the *many* improvements in 4Suite 
(especially in performance) little by little.  Our plans are still to offer up 
the 4Suite code base once it goes 1.0, but I've given up projecting when that 
will be.

On the flip side, if we're stuck without reliable maintenance, maybe it's 
better to drop the packages.

Anyway, I also think that because of the growing difference between the two 
code bases, that we should rename the set in PyXML.  I know I wanted to keep 
the "4XPath" and "4XSLT" names, but given the increasing likelihood of 
confusion, I think it's enough to record their provenience int he docs.

If this seems like a good idea, how about "pyxpath" and "pyxslt"?

Anyway, I think we should decide on these matters before the next release.  
Things have been up in the air way too long.


-- 
Uche Ogbuji                                    Fourthought, Inc.
http://uche.ogbuji.net    http://4Suite.org    http://fourthought.com
Track chair, XML/Web Services One Boston: http://www.xmlconference.com/
Basic XML and RDF techniques for knowledge management, Part 7 - 
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Keeping pace with James Clark - http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/libra
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Python and XML development using 4Suite, Part 3: 4RDF - 
http://www-105.ibm.com/developerworks/education.nsf/xml-onlinecourse-bytitle/8A
1EA5A2CF4621C386256BBB006F4CEC