[Python-3000] stdlib as .zip by default, pydoc to view source?

[Guido van Rossum]

I think this would be a mistake by default -- being able to read the
source *easily* (i.e. without any specific tools) is part of Python's
success.

However I think it would be useful to support this better for more
easy creation of Python distributions embedded in other apps. E.g. at
my previous job we distributed an "agent" implemented in Python, and
for isolation purposes we bundled our own copy of Python. It would
have been nice if we could've bundled the stdlib as a zipfile instead.
(I know we could've done the work ourselves, but it wasn't a priority,
and this is a wheel that really doesn't need to be invented by
everyone on their own.) And no, Py2exe wouldn't have helped.

--Guido

On Sat, Jun 21, 2008 at 6:49 AM, James Thiele <python3now at gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm -1 on this as it would make more cumbersome to grep all the
> modules looking for something.
>
> James
>
> On Fri, Jun 20, 2008 at 10:16 PM, Neil Schemenauer <nas at arctrix.com> wrote:
>> I wonder if it would make sense to start installing the Python
>> standard library as a .zip file by default.  Some benefits would be
>> a tidier and more compact install and slightly faster startup times.
>> One downside is that it becomes more difficult to look at the source
>> of modules.  That's an important feature of Python, especially for
>> people learning the language.
>>
>> I think that downside could be mitigated by adding an option to
>> pydoc that shows the source of a module.  For example, "pydoc -s
>> bisect" could show the source for the bisect module.
>>
>>  Neil
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Python-3000 mailing list
>> Python-3000 at python.org
>> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-3000
>> Unsubscribe: http://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-3000/python3now%40gmail.com
>>
> _______________________________________________
> Python-3000 mailing list
> Python-3000 at python.org
> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-3000
> Unsubscribe: http://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-3000/guido%40python.org
>



-- 
--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)