Thoughts on some stdlib modules

[Fredrik Lundh]

Kay Schluehr wrote:

> I fear that Python 3.0 becomes some kind of vaporware in the Python
> community that paralyzes all redesign efforts on the std-lib.

that, combined with the old observation that CPython developers,
when given a choice, prefer to write C code over Python code, is
making the standard library a lot less useful than it could be.

(if you look at recent releases, most standard lib additions are things
that are fun for language tinkerers and people looking for many ways
to write simple algorithms, but very little stuff that's useful for
scripters
and application builders.  a C implementation of _bisect.  hello?)

if I were in charge, I'd separate 90% of the standard library from the
core distribution, made sure it ran on multiple implementions (at least
the two latest CPython implementations, plus what's needed to make
as much as possible available on the latest Jython and IronPython
releases), bundled a number of carefully selected external libraries
(without forcing developers to give up rights and loose control over
maintenance), refactor the test suite so it could be used both to test
the library and to see what parts worked properly on your platform,
and make new releases (for testers and early adopters) available
regularily.

</F>