lost interest?

[Suchandra Thapa]

Sean Reifschneider <jafo-pythonlist at tummy.com> wrote:
>The problem is largely related to a lack of critical mass.  Nobody uses it
>because nobody uses it.  This was my opinion in March of 2000 at Python 9
>when I showed off my working prototype of a client and server CPAN-like
>system, and it would still seem to be the case.
>

    I definitely agree with this.  I think a big part of it is that initially
there is very little software in the repository so people don't make an effort
to test/debug the client since they don't perceive any immediate benefit to
doing so.

>I demonstrated it at Python 9, and then we got together in the cataloging
>SIG to speak about packaging further.  Active State promised to open up
>their tool, which doesn't seem to have happened.  I expressed the idea that
>I thought packages should, as much as possible, be handled using the native
>system packaging format (using RPMs and .debs, for example), and the idea
>of needing critical mass.  We also talked about making a python-specific
>packaging system, which had some benefits and some drawbacks.

    I really think that unless there a strong push to get a decent repository
set up any solutions are going to flounder.  I also agree that integrating
with the native packaging system (rpm, deb, etc) is very important but
currently distutils only supports windows and rpm installers.  I saw some
activity recently on the distutils-sig on getting a bdist_deb target in
distutils but I don't think much came of it.

>So, is it that the people who want it aren't the people who can make it
>happen?  Are the people who want it to happen not motivated enough to
>actually do something about it?  Is it just not really that interesting of
>a problem?
>
>I wish I had an answer there.
>
>So, currently the system I built is gathering dust.  I've set up resources
>for Suchandra to host his code.  I hope it goes better.

    I've seen some feedback and some activity however I wish there were more
responses one way or another.  

>So, if you want to see it happen, I'd have these words of advice:  Get
>Involved.  Get some packages uploaded, use it, advocate it...

    Definitely, if nothing else test it out and submit a report of failures
or successes.  If module authors were to submit or give the location of
their modules it would definitely help the packages available for 
download work significantly.    

-- 
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	   		              |
Suchandra Thapa                       | "There are only two kinds of math . 
s-thapa-11 at NOSPAMalumni.uchicago.edu  | books. Those you cannot read beyond 
			              | the first sentence, and those you 
			              | can not read beyond the first page."
			              |                     -C.N. Yang
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