[Python-Dev] PEP 3147: PYC Repository Directories

[Guido van Rossum]

On Sat, Feb 6, 2010 at 4:27 PM, Ben Finney <ben+python at benfinney.id.au> wrote:
> Barry Warsaw <barry at python.org> writes:
>> I agree. I'd prefer to have a predictable place for the cached files,
>> independent of having to run Python to tell you where that is.
>
> Right; I don't see who would disagree with that. I don't see any
> conflict between “decouple compiled bytecode file locations from source
> file locations” versus “predictable location for the compiled bytecode
> files”.

The conflict is purely that PEP 3147 proposes the new behavior to be
optional, and adds a flag (-R) and an environment variable
($PYTHONPYR) to change it. I presume Barry is proposing this out of
fear that the new behavior might upset somebody; personally I think it
would be better if the behavior weren't optional. At least not in new
Python releases -- in backports such as a distribution that wants this
feature might make, it may make sense to be more conservative, or at
least to have a way to turn it off.

-- 
--Guido van Rossum (python.org/~guido)