Modules for inclusion in standard library?

[Mike Meyer]

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.)
>
> A notable exception is the dbm modules, but I seem to recall hearing
> that the official position is that it was a mistake. (Now only kept
> for backward compatability.)

Um - dbm is bundled with both os's I use (FreeBSD and OS X). I'd be
surprised if some variant or another didn't come standard on most
Linux systems as well.

Not all builtin functions are available on all os's. And the source
tree certainly includes modules that are specific to a single
operating systems (just look in the PC and Mac directories). I'm
pretty sure there are other modules that aren't supported on various
oddball systems - like termios.

Why should a module that's usable out-of-the-box on a fair variety of
systems be excluded just because it's not usable on all platforms?

        <mike
-- 
Mike Meyer <mwm at mired.org>			http://www.mired.org/home/mwm/
Independent WWW/Perforce/FreeBSD/Unix consultant, email for more information.