[Python-Dev] PEP 423 : naming conventions and recipes related to packaging

[Benoît Bryon]

Le 27/06/2012 13:34, Antoine Pitrou a écrit :
> Similarly, I think the section about private projects ("Private
> (including closed-source) projects use a namespace") should be removed.
> It is not our duty to promote naming standards for private (i.e.
> internal) projects.
The intention in the proposed PEP is to promote standards
for general Python usage, which implicitely includes both public
and private use.

The proposed PEP tries to explain how the conventions
apply in most use cases. Public and private scopes are mentioned
explicitely because they were identified as valuable use cases.

Here are some reasons why the "private code" use case has
been identified as valuable:

* New Python developers (or more accurately new distribution
   authors) may wonder "What makes a good name?", even if they are
   working in a private area. Guidelines covering private code would
   be welcome.

* At work, I already had discussions about naming patterns for
   closed source projects. These discussions consumed some energy
   made the team focus on some "less valuable" topics. We searched
   for an official convention and didn't find one. We made choices
   but none of us was really satisfied about it. An external
   arbitration from a trusted authority would have been welcome,
   even if we were making closed-source software.

* As Paul said, "personal code often ends up more widely used than
   originally envisaged". So following the convention from the start
   may help.

* Here, the PEP already covers (or tries to) most public code use
   cases. It's quite easy to extend it to private code. I feel
   drawbacks are negligible compared to potential benefits.

   .. note:: IMHO, main drawback is "read this long document".

* Isn't it obvious that, at last, people do what they want to in
   private code? In fact, they also do in public code. I mean the
   document is an informational PEP. It recommends to apply conventions
   but the actual choice is left to developers.


That said, would the changes below improve the document?

* Keep the parts about private and closed-source code, but add a
   note to insist on "in private code, you obviously do what you want
   to" and "be aware that personal code often ends up more widely used
   than originally envisaged".

* At the beginning of the document, add a section like
   http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0008/#a-foolish-consistency-is-the-hobgoblin-of-little-minds


Another option would have been to deal with "general Python code"
and don't mention "public" and "private" areas, i.e. implicitely
cover both. I haven't followed this way because it is implicit.


> Also, I don't see what's so important about using
> your company's name as a top-level namespace. You don't need it for
> conflict avoidance: you can just as well use distinctive project names.

Using company's name as top-level namespace has been proven a
good practice:

* avoids clashes and confusion with public projects, i.e. don't
   create a "cms" private project because there could be a "cms"
   project on PyPI.

* makes it easy to release the code as open-source: don't change
   the project name.

* if there is no reason at all for the project to contain the
   company name (i.e. the project is not specific to the company),
   why not realeasing it as open source? (with a one-level name)

Using company's name is not the only option. But, as far as I know,
it fits most use cases, which is enough (and required) for a
convention.

Another option is to use any arbitrary name as top-level namespace.
You can. If an arbitrary name seems obvious to you, feel free to
use it. But, in most cases, company's name is an obvious choice.

So, would you appreciate a change so that:

* company name is recommended as a best practice.
* but any arbitrary name can be used.

Could be something in:

1. "For private projects, use company name (or any unique arbitrary name)
    as top-level namespace".

2. "For private projects, use any arbitrary name (company name is
    generally a good choice) as top-level namespace".

3. "For private projects, use a top-level namespace (company name is
    generally a good choice, but you can use any unique arbitrary name)."


Benoit