[Python-Dev] magic in setuptools (Was: setuptools in the stdlib)

[Guido van Rossum]

On 4/20/06, "Martin v. Löwis" <martin at v.loewis.de> wrote:
> I thought a resource
> is something you can exhaust; the fork should have been
> named "data fork" or just "second fork".

Hmm... I don't think that the English word "resource" necessarily
implies that it can be exhausted. In US businesses, people are often
also referred to as resources. I've come to think of it as simply
"what you need". The definition at http://www.answers.com/resource has
this:

"""
   1.  Something that can be used for support or help: The local
library is a valuable resource.
   2. An available supply that can be drawn on when needed. Often used
in the plural.
   3. The ability to deal with a difficult or troublesome situation
effectively; initiative: a person of resource.
   4. Means that can be used to cope with a difficult situation. Often
used in the plural: needed all my intellectual resources for the exam.
   5.
         1. resources The total means available for economic and
political development, such as mineral wealth, labor force, and
armaments.
         2. resources The total means available to a company for
increasing production or profit, including plant, labor, and raw
material; assets.
         3. Such means considered individually.
"""

#1 and #2 especially explain the usage we're considering.

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