Decoupling the version of the file from the name of the module.

[Robert Kern]

Steven D'Aprano wrote:

> I distribute two apps, Parrot and Shrubbery. Both rely on a common module,
> Spam. Parrot uses version 1 of Spam and Shrubbery uses version 2. For the
> sake of the argument, Spam is completely backwards compatible, so I
> have no problems with somebody installing Parrot plus Spam version 1, then
> installing Shrubbery, where Spam version 2 overwrites the older Spam
> module. But if Spam version 1 overwrites version 2, then Shrubbery stops
> working.
> 
> The easy answer is to say, "Then don't do that", but that's a terribly
> impractical answer. Blaming the user is no real solution either. In
> old-time Windows land, installation programs would blindly nuke newer DLLs
> with older DLLs all the time. Under Linux, one convention is for shared
> libraries to include the version number in the file name, so that newer
> libraries weren't blown away by older ones.
> 
> What is the Python solution? Enquiring minds want to know.

http://peak.telecommunity.com/DevCenter/PythonEggs
http://peak.telecommunity.com/DevCenter/PkgResources

-- 
Robert Kern
robert.kern at gmail.com

"In the fields of hell where the grass grows high
 Are the graves of dreams allowed to die."
  -- Richard Harter