On Tue, Feb 2, 2016 at 10:15 PM, Steve Dower <steve.do...@python.org> wrote: > I was throwing around some ideas with colleagues about how we detect Python > installations on Windows from within Visual Studio, and it came up that > there are many Python distros that install into different locations but > write the same registry entries. (I knew about this, of course, but this > time I decided to do something.) > > [snip] > > So here is a rough proposal to standardise the registry keys that can be set > on Windows in a way that (a) lets other installers besides the official ones > have equal footing, (b) provides consistent search and resolution semantics > for tools, and (c) includes slightly more rich metadata (such as display > names and URLs). Presented in PEP-like form here, but if feedback suggests > just putting it in the docs I'm okay with that too. It is fully backwards > compatible with official releases of Python (at least back to 2.5, possibly > further) and does not require modifications to Python or the official > installer - it is purely codifying a superset of what we already do. > > Any and all feedback welcomed, especially from the owners of other distros, > Python implementations or tools on the list.
Just wanted to quickly point out another use of the WIndows registry in Python: WindowsRegistryFinder [1]. This is an import "meta-path" finder that locates modules declared (*not* defined) in the registry. I'm not familiar with the Windows registry nor do I know if anyone is using this finder. That said, ISTM the finder's use of the registry does not face quite the same challenges you've described in the proposal. I expect Martin von Löwis could explain more as he was involved with adding the finder. Just wanted to throw that out there, particularly if there's a chance of the finder's registry keys conflicting in some way. -eric [1] https://hg.python.org/cpython/file/5873cfb42ebe/Lib/importlib/_bootstrap_external.py#l570 _______________________________________________ Python-Dev mailing list Python-Dev@python.org https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-dev Unsubscribe: https://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-dev/archive%40mail-archive.com
