[Python-ideas] Add citation() to site.py

[Ethan Furman]

On 03/17/2016 01:41 PM, Chris Angelico wrote:
> On Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 7:35 AM, Ethan Furman wrote:

>> I would also think that citing the software increases the ease of
>> duplicating the results.
>
> If that's the intention, citation() should include enough details to
> ensure this. There's been talk of changing the default PRNG, so that
> kind of thing would have to be identifiable (eg if the citation says
> "CPython 3.6.1" and it's known that the PRNG changed in 3.6, people
> will be able to understand why the results differ on 3.5). Probably
> sys.version will have enough info for that.

If the citation doesn't have enough information to enable somebody to go 
and get the same software package it seems rather pointless.

As one example other goodies bundled with a distribution will vary 
betwixt them.

--
~Ethan~