[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[STINNER Victor]

STINNER Victor  added the comment:

I created bpo-35471: "Remove macpath module".

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[STINNER Victor]

STINNER Victor added the comment:

Ok, I don't see any open task anymore, so I close this issue.

The macpath may or may not be removed in Python 3.8, so not before 2018-01-29. 
IMHO it's ok to remove the module, macpath was used for MacOS 9, but all macOS 
users are now running macOS X. Otherwise, you can simply use an older Python 
version (like the future Python 3.7 ;-)). We can discuss the effective macpath 
removal later, when master will become Python 3.8.

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Serhiy Storchaka]

Serhiy Storchaka added the comment:

No, the current code LGTM.

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[STINNER Victor]

STINNER Victor added the comment:

>> I looked at this function, but I don't want to skip the test if the module 
>> cannot be imported.
>
> You can pass required_on=('',).

('',) looks mysterious to me. I prefer my current code.

If you consider that an helper is required, I would prefer a more explicit 
option on import_module(), like always_raise=True or something like that?

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Serhiy Storchaka]

Serhiy Storchaka added the comment:

> I looked at this function, but I don't want to skip the test if the module 
> cannot be imported.

You can pass required_on=('',).

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[STINNER Victor]

STINNER Victor added the comment:


New changeset d812eb731d886065bdd9bc94a3f0e5dfdcd671a4 by Victor Stinner in 
branch 'master':
bpo-9850: Document macpath deprecation in Misc/NEWS (#1590)
https://github.com/python/cpython/commit/d812eb731d886065bdd9bc94a3f0e5dfdcd671a4


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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[STINNER Victor]

STINNER Victor added the comment:

Serhiy Storchaka: "And please add a Misc/NEWS entry."

I created https://github.com/python/cpython/pull/1590


Serhiy: "You can use test.support.import_module(deprecated=True) for importing 
deprecated module in tests."

I looked at this function, but I don't want to skip the test if the module 
cannot be imported.


Jim Fasarakis-Hilliard: "Great! Also, as Mariatta mentioned in a previous 
message, shouldn't an entry in PEP-4 be made?"

I created https://github.com/python/peps/pull/257

I didn't know the PEP 4.

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[STINNER Victor]

Changes by STINNER Victor :


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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Jim Fasarakis-Hilliard]

Jim Fasarakis-Hilliard added the comment:

Great! Also, as Mariatta mentioned in a previous message, shouldn't an entry in 
PEP-4 be made?

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Serhiy Storchaka]

Serhiy Storchaka added the comment:

And please add a Misc/NEWS entry.

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Serhiy Storchaka]

Serhiy Storchaka added the comment:

You can use test.support.import_module(deprecated=True) for importing 
deprecated module in tests.

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[STINNER Victor]

STINNER Victor added the comment:

> Bump, any update on what to do with this issue?

I just deprecated the macpath module in Python 3.7. It will be removed from 
Python 3.8.

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[STINNER Victor]

STINNER Victor added the comment:


New changeset 89a1c93f046f9726310f8362227be7b8e50eea22 by Victor Stinner in 
branch 'master':
bpo-9850: Deprecate the macpath module (#1540)
https://github.com/python/cpython/commit/89a1c93f046f9726310f8362227be7b8e50eea22


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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[STINNER Victor]

STINNER Victor added the comment:

> Bump, any update on what to do with this issue?

I updated and completed Chi Hsuan Yen's 3.6-deprecate-macpath.patch to create a 
pull request. I suggest to start by deprecating macpath in 3.7, and remove it 
from Python 3.8.

This module is here for years. macOS 9 is now dead, all macOS users migrated to 
OS X nowadays. I don't think that there is an urgency to *remove* macpath.

The title says "obsolete macpath module dangerously broken": is "dangerous" 
still up to date after the following fix?

New changeset 54987723de99 by Serhiy Storchaka in branch '3.4':
Issue #9850: Fixed macpath.join() for empty first component.  Patch by
https://hg.python.org/cpython/rev/54987723de99

If yes, we may also warn users in the macpath documentation that the module is 
dangerous, especially in the documentation of Python < 3.7.

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[STINNER Victor]

Changes by STINNER Victor :


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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Jim Fasarakis-Hilliard]

Jim Fasarakis-Hilliard added the comment:

Bump, any update on what to do with this issue?

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Mariatta Wijaya]

Mariatta Wijaya added the comment:

I'm just reading PEP-4 now for procedure of declaring a module deprecated.
Should PEP-4 page be updated with the proposal / info for macpath deprecation?

https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0004/

Thanks.

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Chi Hsuan Yen]

Chi Hsuan Yen added the comment:

Oops forgot to commit deleted files in the 3.7 patch.

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Chi Hsuan Yen]

Chi Hsuan Yen added the comment:

Here are my tries. There are more MacOS-specific module names in 
Tools/freeze/freeze.py. They are unrelated to macpath so I leave them to the 
next bug.

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Chi Hsuan Yen]

Changes by Chi Hsuan Yen :


Added file: http://bugs.python.org/file44930/3.6-deprecate-macpath.patch

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Mariatta Wijaya]

Changes by Mariatta Wijaya :


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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Berker Peksag]

Changes by Berker Peksag :


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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Ned Deily]

Ned Deily added the comment:

It's a bit late in the 3.6 cycle to be removing macpath, but it's not too late 
to mark it in 3.6 as deprecated and to be removed in 3.7.  If someone wants to 
write two patches, one for 3.6 to add a deprecation warning to the code and to 
the docs, the other for 3.7 to actually remove all traces of macpath, that 
would be great!

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type: enhancement -> 
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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Chi Hsuan Yen]

Changes by Chi Hsuan Yen :


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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Scott Macpherson]

Changes by Scott Macpherson :


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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Serhiy Storchaka]

Serhiy Storchaka added the comment:

In third-party code the path manipulating functions can be used in unexpected 
manner than doesn't relate to paths on MacOS. Also import macpath can be left 
even with the use of macpath was eliminated or are dead code. There is a chance 
to break third-party code when just remove macpath without deprecation period.

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Ronald Oussoren]

Ronald Oussoren added the comment:

I think it is by now safe to remove macpath, AFAIK there is no real use-case 
anymore for having classic MacOS9 paths on any recentish version of OSX.]

I'm setting the version to 3.6 because it is too late to do this for Python 
3.5, but it can be done for 3.6.

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Roundup Robot]

Roundup Robot added the comment:

New changeset 2ae2ca9d2b66 by Serhiy Storchaka in branch '2.7':
Issue #9850: Fixed macpath.join() for empty first component.  Patch by
https://hg.python.org/cpython/rev/2ae2ca9d2b66

New changeset 54987723de99 by Serhiy Storchaka in branch '3.4':
Issue #9850: Fixed macpath.join() for empty first component.  Patch by
https://hg.python.org/cpython/rev/54987723de99

New changeset e29866cb6b98 by Serhiy Storchaka in branch 'default':
Issue #9850: Fixed macpath.join() for empty first component.  Patch by
https://hg.python.org/cpython/rev/e29866cb6b98

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Serhiy Storchaka]

Serhiy Storchaka added the comment:

Committed macpath_join_fix_with_test.patch with some additional tests. Thank 
you for your contribution Oleg.

Needed a patch for deprecating all module or some functions.

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stage: commit review - needs patch
type: behavior - enhancement
versions:  -Python 2.7

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Ned Deily]

Ned Deily added the comment:

The patch appears fine but it really doesn't have anything to do with the gist 
of this issue.  The problem remains that much of macpath is fundamentally 
broken.  In the intervening years since the issue was opened, I contend that 
any need for OS 9 style paths (aka HFS paths) has diminished even further so I 
would still support starting in Python 3.5 the deprecation and removal process 
for this module.  But, as long as it remains, to address the current problems 
at a minimum a patch would be needed to remove or raise exceptions for all of 
the macpath functions that make file system calls and to update the 
documentation.

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Jessica McKellar]

Jessica McKellar added the comment:

Thanks for writing up this issue, ned.deily, and thanks for providing a patch, 
chortos.

I couldn't find documentation clearly specifying what the correct behavior of 
macpath.join should be (i.e. what are the exact rules for leading and trailing 
colons), but comparing the old and updated behavior against the new tests, this 
patch does make the function's behavior more consistent.

* The patch passes `make patchcheck`.
* The full test suite passes with this patch.

= commit review

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nosy: +jesstess
stage: needs patch - commit review
versions: +Python 2.7, Python 3.5 -Python 3.3

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Oleg Oshmyan]

Oleg Oshmyan chor...@inbox.lv added the comment:

I fully agree with Ronald’s proposal. And for a start, here is a trivial patch 
that fixes macpath.join('', ...) [at the moment it just returns its last 
argument]. By the way, this fix is probably eligible for inclusion in 
Python 2.7 too.

I also have ‘implement macpath.relpath’ in my to-do list, although in practice 
this means nothing.

--
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nosy: +chortos
Added file: http://bugs.python.org/file22929/macpath_join_fix.patch

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Éric Araujo]

Éric Araujo mer...@netwok.org added the comment:

Thanks for the patch.  Is the function already tested or does someone need to 
add a test?

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Oleg Oshmyan]

Oleg Oshmyan chor...@inbox.lv added the comment:

It is already tested but here is a new version of the patch that expands the 
existing test to cover the situation that was broken (plus another one).

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Added file: http://bugs.python.org/file22943/macpath_join_fix_with_test.patch

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Éric Araujo]

Changes by Éric Araujo mer...@netwok.org:


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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Éric Araujo]

Éric Araujo mer...@netwok.org added the comment:

I agree with Ronald’s proposal.

(Re “I don't remember if I redid my OS9-removal work”: Looks like you didn’t.)

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Ned Deily]

Ned Deily n...@acm.org added the comment:

Patches in progress.

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Ronald Oussoren]

Ronald Oussoren ronaldousso...@mac.com added the comment:

MacOS9 is already unsupported, except for macpath all traces of OS9 support are 
gone with the possible exception of distutils (I removed traces of OS9 support 
code in 3.2 and those got restored when Tarek replaced distutils by the version 
from the 3.1 branch, I don't remember if I redid my OS9-removal work).

As I wrote earlier the path manipulation code (macpath.join, macpath.split 
etc.) are still useful because OS9-style paths are still used in some parts of 
OSX.

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Ned Deily]

New submission from Ned Deily n...@acm.org:

The macpath module in the standard library purports to supply the Mac OS 9 
(and earlier) implementation of the os.path module.  It can be used to 
manipulate old-style Macintosh pathnames on Mac OS X (or any other platform).  
The following functions are available in this module: normcase(), normpath(), 
isabs(), join(), split(), isdir(), isfile(), walk(), exists(). For other 
functions available in os.path dummy counterparts are available.

Old-style Mac pathnames are not further documented - in fact, the above quote 
is the entire external documentation for the module - but they are ones using 
colon separators, like (MacHD:Users:nad:macpath_test:file). These style path 
names were initially supported on Mac OS X by compatibility APIs for programs 
ported from classic Mac OS but those interfaces have long been deprecated in OS 
X and in most cases are not available in 64-bit execution mode.

Even if one did have a need to use the obsolete old-style paths, the macpath 
module is currently practically unusable for anything other than simple 
character manipulations of the path.  Nearly all of the functions that actually 
call OS routines are broken in one or more ways.

Those that do make file system calls are calling APIs that are expecting normal 
posix-style ('/' separated paths) incorrectly with old-style (:) paths 
(ispath, isdir, lexists, etc) which means they only give correct results in the 
trivial case of unqualified file or directory names, i.e. those in the working 
directory.

The islink() function confusingly is testing whether a path points to a Finder 
Alias file (not a symlink).  Unfortunately, the Carbon API used for that test 
does not exist in a 64-bit version and all of the Python Carbon modules were 
removed in Python 3.

$ arch -i386 python2.7 -c 'import macpath; 
print(macpath.islink(alias_to_file))'
1
$ arch -x86_64 python2.7 -c 'import macpath; 
print(macpath.islink(alias_to_file))'
False
$ python3.2 -c 'import macpath; print(macpath.islink(alias_to_file))'
False

The underlying import errors are being masked by try's:

$ arch -i386 python2.7 -c 'import Carbon.File; Carbon.File.ResolveAliasFile'
$ arch -x86_64 python2.7 -c 'import Carbon.File; Carbon.File.ResolveAliasFile'
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File string, line 1, in module
AttributeError: 'module' object has no attribute 'ResolveAliasFile'
$ python3.1 -c 'import Carbon.File; Carbon.File.ResolveAliasFile'
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File string, line 1, in module
ImportError: No module named Carbon.File

The realpath function is also broken in 2.7, calling 
Carbon.File.FSResolveAliasFile with a : separated path when it expects a / 
path, and is totally broken in 3.x (no Carbon modules).


While ospath *could* be repaired by proper documentation, fixing the mishmash 
of path types internally, and supplying C wrappers and/or alternative 64-bit 
APIs, it does not seem worth the effort as these style paths are seldom 
encountered in modern code.  Considering how broken the module currently is and 
given that it probably was simply overlooked in the Python 2 to 3 transition, I 
think a case could be made for immediate removal prior to Python 3.2 release 
and even for a 3.1.x maintenance release.  Short of that, it should be cleared 
documented as deprecated in 3.2, 3.1, and 2.7 along with warnings about broken 
functionality along with added DeprecationWarnings to the module.

I can write up patches to do that depending on what the consensus is.

--
assignee: ronaldoussoren
components: Macintosh
messages: 116365
nosy: ned.deily, ronaldoussoren
priority: normal
severity: normal
stage: needs patch
status: open
title: obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed
type: behavior
versions: Python 2.7, Python 3.1, Python 3.2

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[issue9850] obsolete macpath module dangerously broken and should be removed

[Ned Deily]

Ned Deily n...@acm.org added the comment:

The macpath module in the standard library purports to supply the Mac OS 9 
(and earlier) implementation of the os.path module.  It can be used to 
manipulate old-style Macintosh pathnames on Mac OS X (or any other platform).  
The following functions are available in this module: normcase(), normpath(), 
isabs(), join(), split(), isdir(), isfile(), walk(), exists(). For other 
functions available in os.path dummy counterparts are available.

Old-style Mac pathnames are not further documented - in fact, the above quote 
is the entire external documentation for the module - but they are ones using 
colon separators, like (MacHD:Users:nad:macpath_test:file). These style path 
names were initially supported on Mac OS X by compatibility APIs for programs 
ported from classic Mac OS but those interfaces have long been deprecated in OS 
X and in most cases are not available in 64-bit execution mode.

Even if one did have a need to use the obsolete old-style paths, the macpath 
module is currently practically unusable for anything other than simple 
character manipulations of the path.  Nearly all of the functions that actually 
call OS routines are broken in one or more ways.

Those that do make file system calls are calling APIs that are expecting normal 
posix-style ('/' separated paths) incorrectly with old-style (:) paths 
(ispath, isdir, lexists, etc) which means they only give correct results in the 
trivial case of unqualified file or directory names, i.e. those in the working 
directory.

The islink() function confusingly is testing whether a path points to a Finder 
Alias file (not a symlink).  Unfortunately, the Carbon API used for that test 
does not exist in a 64-bit version and all of the Python Carbon modules were 
removed in Python 3.

$ arch -i386 python2.7 -c 'import macpath; 
print(macpath.islink(alias_to_file))'
1
$ arch -x86_64 python2.7 -c 'import macpath; 
print(macpath.islink(alias_to_file))'
False
$ python3.2 -c 'import macpath; print(macpath.islink(alias_to_file))'
False

The underlying import errors are being masked by try's:

$ arch -i386 python2.7 -c 'import Carbon.File; Carbon.File.ResolveAliasFile'
$ arch -x86_64 python2.7 -c 'import Carbon.File; Carbon.File.ResolveAliasFile'
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File string, line 1, in module
AttributeError: 'module' object has no attribute 'ResolveAliasFile'
$ python3.2 -c 'import Carbon.File; Carbon.File.ResolveAliasFile'
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File string, line 1, in module
ImportError: No module named Carbon.File

The realpath function is also broken in 2.7, calling 
Carbon.File.FSResolveAliasFile with a : separated path when it expects a / 
path, and is totally broken in 3.x (no Carbon modules).


While macpath *could* be repaired by proper documentation, fixing the mishmash 
of path types internally, and supplying C wrappers and/or alternative 64-bit 
APIs, it does not seem worth the effort as these style paths are seldom 
encountered in modern code.  Considering how broken the module currently is and 
given that it probably was simply overlooked in the Python 2 to 3 transition, I 
think a case could be made for immediate removal prior to Python 3.2 release 
and even for a 3.1.x maintenance release.  Short of that, it should be cleared 
documented as deprecated in 3.2, 3.1, and 2.7 along with warnings about broken 
functionality along with added DeprecationWarnings to the module.

I can write up patches to do that depending on what the consensus is.

--

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http://bugs.python.org/issue9850
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