[Python-Dev] Request for Opinions

[Uche Ogbuji]

Even though I'm one of the 4XPath developers, I've largely stayed on the
sidelines because I've never been on python-dev, and I don't know how
such matters are usually considered.  Guido's response gives good
guidance, and my ideas are expressed in-line.

Guido van Rossum wrote:
> 
> > By the way, one of the major reasons there is no clear consensus from
> > the XML SIG yet is because we are hung up on an issue of fact. Is it
> > technically and politically feasible to put 4XPath into the Python
> > distribution. Our discussions over there will be radically different if
> > everybody over here says "sure, that's no problem."
> 
> I have no idea what 4XPath is.  Assuming it is a separately maintained
> and distributed 3rd party library, the answer is no for the source
> distribution and yes for binary distributions.

Paul did suggest a couple of other options.  One was to make 4XPath
easier to integrate into Python (by moving to SRE or otherwise removing
the lex/yacc dependencuy), and this is a possibility.  However, I don't
know how you gauge what a "third-party" module is.  My guess would be
that it's a matter of copyright.  If so, that might be an obstacle, but
maybe not an insurmountable one.  The other solution was to write an
XPath-lite, probably all in Python to go with minidom in the Python
distro.  This would be the path of least resistance, but we are still
discussion on xml-sig the useful subset of XPath.

Is there any clear statement of policiy for including modules?  Even a
mailing-list archive entry?  I don't expect one because this is
open-source/BDFL world where the policy usually lies in a
highly-respectable head, but it could certainly guide this conversation
either here or on xml-sig.

> We could also create a "sumo" (meaning so big it contains everything)
> source distribution that contains Python and all needed 3rd party
> libraries.

Not a bad idea as a stop-gap answer to CPAN.

-- 
Uche Ogbuji                               Principal Consultant
uche.ogbuji@fourthought.com               +01 303 583 9900 x 101
Fourthought, Inc.                         http://Fourthought.com 
4735 East Walnut St, Ste. C, Boulder, CO 80301-2537, USA
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