Modules for inclusion in standard library?

[Colin J. Williams]

Rocco Moretti wrote:
> Paul Rubin wrote:
> 
>> Rocco Moretti <roccomoretti at hotpop.com> writes:
>>
>>> Except that (please correct me if I'm wrong) there is somewhat of a
>>> policy for not including interface code for third party programs which
>>> are not part of the operating system. (I.e. the modules in the
>>> standard libary should all be usable for anyone with a default OS +
>>> Python install.)
>>
>>
>>
>> I've never heard of Python having such a policy and I don't understand
>> how such a stupid policy could be considered compatible with a
>> proclaimed "batteries included" philosophy.  Why would Python
>> advocates want to make Python deliberately uncompetitive with PHP,
>> Java, and other languages that do include database modules?
> 
> 
> Well, since there seems to be an outpouring of disgust at my statement, 
> and no official confirmation/rejection, it's probably a figment of my 
> prematurely failing mind.
> 
> However, if there was such a policy, it would not be unequivocally 
> "stupid." First off, there is a bit of flexibility in what is considered 
> part of the OS. E.g, Linux may properly refer to just the kernel, but 
> rarely is just the kernel installed. Various utilities and programs 
> might be considered part of the OS because they are ubiquitously 
> installed, or are included with the Python distribution itself (as Tk is 
> with windows Python).
> 
> For those programs which aren't ubiquitously installed, or even for ones 
> that are, but require significant configuration, it is reasonable to 
> expect that if someone has the ability and goes to the effort of 
> locating, obtaining, installing, and configuring a third party program, 
> they can just as easily obtain and install the python module, especially 
> as it's usually as easy as "python setup.py install".
> 
> At any rate, I'm not advocating such a policy, I'm just saying it can 
> make a bit of sense if you look at it from a certain angle.
I agree.  It makes sense to develop a policy first.

Colin W.