Nick Coghlan: >> I'd like to see Python 3+ be more suitable for full distributable >> applications over 2.X and earlier. > > Out of curiousity, have you tried experimenting with the zipfile > execution capabilities in 2.6/3.1? A major part of that was to make > multi-file Python applications nearly as easy to execute as single-file > scripts.
With all due respect, that process is a bit like a black magic approach. Maybe the capability is there, but it isn't very well documented and it isn't obvious. I doubt it would work on all package types (there are many) and not everybody is using 2.6/3.1 for everything yet. If you want, you could tell me exactly how it is actually done and I can do a test on the packages on pypi and tell you exactly how many that it will work for and how many it wont. I think what Ron meant was "a way for normal users to install a python application". That capability doesn't exist in standard python in a way that is compatable or similar to anything that has happened in the "outside" world for the last decade. In a scientific application, it might be "I need a program to control my .(something).ascope". It's quite simple. That capability doesn't exist yet and discussion about it gets ignored every time the question is asked on the distutils-mailing list. Maybe Distribute addresses all these issues and we just don't know about it. As regular uses, we were told to expect that and that Distribute could address our issues. Distribute has arrived as promised so maybe we should be checking there. In any case, the number of people that can actually work on packaging problems is 2 up to a maximum of 3. It's too small to compete realistically with other languages such as perl which might have 5 to 10 people working there. Guido has asked once or twice about CPAN like capabilities for Python. People on the list answered, but the core development team didn't answer on list. (They could have answered off list - hard for us to know). So major peaces of infastructure remain left out. Like a package testbot for example. Or Unit Testing of Packages. Martin can't be expected to do that and neither can Tarek. In some open-source projects, money or resources would be channeled to contractors to get boring bits done. It's not like a nuclear research labority or a medical institution is poor. Not anywhere I know anyway. It is always surprising how when somebody important asks somebody else important just how easily things can happen. I don't know the exact prices.. but I'm pretty sure that if just one old electron microscope could be given to charity (us) for us to sell on ebay.. (just an idea) it would be enough to pay for a team for a year - haha So who's got an old electron microscope to swap for a package installation system ? :-) Without that can-do attitude, all our present resources are all tied up. There's little chance that any of Guido's issues can be addressed. That's just my take on it anyway. Yes.. and finishing with your suggestions... we can experiment.. play with all the undocumented and unobvious features. And really, in a sense you are right. That is all we can do. David _______________________________________________ Python-Dev mailing list Python-Dev@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-dev Unsubscribe: http://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-dev/archive%40mail-archive.com
