[Python-Dev] Expat -- it keeps going, and going, and going ...

[Guido van Rossum]

On Feb 9, Paul Prescod wrote (amongst other things):

> If we can get concensus on this issue, I will approach James Clark for a
> more Pythonic license. Right now it has an MPL license but I suspect
> that James will be flexible.

I'm coming late to the XML discussion.  I haven't looked at Expat or
its license or PyExpat or any of the other stuff that you are
suggesting that should be added, but if you all want this in Python,
and if we can get the license to do it, I'd say let's go for it.

The license issue is potentially a showstopper though.  Have you
talked to James Clark about it yet?

Assuming we can get the license to work, I propose something like the
following (all work to be done by members of the XML-SIG or other
volunteers!):

- On Windows, incorporate Expat in an extension (a .PYD file, i.e. a
DLL in disguise), statically linked.  The VC++ project files in the
PCbuild directory should be updated to build this, assuming the expat
source tree is elsewhere on the disk (we do this for the zlib, bsddb
and _tkinter extensions too, so it's no big deal).

- On Unix, if you want Expat you have to download and build it
yourself, then change a few lines in Python's Modules/Setup file, and
rebuild Python and you're done.  Linux repackagers can add Expat
support to their list.

- On all platforms, the Python modules for XML support are always
available.  Please use a reasonable package structure for everything
that's not already in the current distribution.  I'd say a toplevel
name with "xml" in it should be fine.

- Leave xmllib.py and friends alone.  Add a note to their
documentation that says that better solutions are available.

- It needs to come with documentation and testing.  Without these, it
won't go into 1.6, 1.7 *or* 3000.

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