[Python-Dev] pkgutil, pkg_resource and Python 3.0 name space packages

[Brett Cannon]

On Jan 6, 2008 8:28 PM, Guido van Rossum <guido at python.org> wrote:
> On Jan 6, 2008 7:23 PM, Phillip J. Eby <pje at telecommunity.com> wrote:
> > At 04:23 PM 1/6/2008 -0800, Guido van Rossum wrote:
> > >Regarding using common words, either the stdlib grabs these, or
> > >*nobody* gets to use them (for fear of conflicting with some other 3rd
> > >party package grabbing the same).
> >
> > This isn't quite true; a standalone Python application that isn't
> > extensible doesn't need to worry about this.  And it's standalone
> > apps that are most likely to claim these common words.  (For example,
> > until recently, Chandler's database library packages were in 'repository.*'.)
> >
> > But of course this is still a pretty minor point overall.  If the
> > stdlib does go for deeper nestings, I have a slight preference for
> > seeing them under std.* or some such rather than top level.  But I
> > don't really see a whole lot of point to doing a major re-org of the
> > stdlib space to begin with, for the simple reason that package names
> > are not really categories -- they're *names*.  IMO 'from databases
> > import sqlite' doesn't add any value over 'import pysqlite3' to begin with.
> >
> > Worse, it will likely be an attractive nuisance for people saying
> > "why don't we have databases.Oracle?" and suchlike.  And you still
> > have to remember the names, only now they're longer.  And was it
> > database or databases?  Greater uniqueness of names is just another
> > reason flat is better than nested.  :)
>
> Right. Packages are useful if it helps make the sub-names shorter. The
> email package is a good example: it uses lots of generic names like
> errors, charset, encoders, message, parser, utils, iterators.

So only do the 'databases' package if we can change the modules names
to make it worth it?  So whichdb becomes databases.which, dumbdbm
becomes databases.dumb, etc.? And then extend this to any other
package that we consider creating? Otherwise leave it out?  How would
that follow for sqlite since that is not going to get any shorter
thanks to a package?  Should it still go into the package for
organizational purposes?

In other words, should the stdlib reorg only introduce new packages if
the majority of modules that go into the package end up with a shorter
name?

-Brett