[Python-Dev] Re: Deprecation

[Guido van Rossum]

> > >   This would be very cool. Rather than having to go by python
> > > version numbers, which seem obscure, an application can declare its
> > > dependencies by module. Perhaps even some tool to determine an apps
> > > dependencies.  These dependencies can then be checked using the
> > > current version in a perl-esque regression test style to determine
> > > how well the current version meets the applications needs (I say
> > > this because some code may not be run normally but require more
> > > advanced features - this could also allow for some very interesting
> > > approaches to modularity and using available python features in larger
> > > applications). It would then be very easy to determine the cause
> > > of breakage and/or the need of the application.
> > 
> > Hm, this sounds like overkill to me.  And who's going to write the AI
> > software to do this automatic regression testing?
> 
>   Perhaps it came across as more than it should be. I meant just specifying
> the version numbers of the individual modules in a CPAN-like
> dependency thing. Then, on start-up, the dependencies are just
> checked. Mostly matching of version numbers. The stats are just a
> fancy way of saying how screwed you are :)

This has been proposed before, but I don't think anybody really
understands how to do version dependencies correctly.

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