status of regex modules

[Mark Lawrence]

On 05/12/2013 04:37, Terry Reedy wrote:
> On 12/4/2013 11:21 AM, Mark Lawrence wrote:
>> On 24/10/2013 22:47, Mark Lawrence wrote:
>>> The new module is now five years old.  PEP 429 Python 3.4 release
>>> schedule has it listed under "Other proposed large-scale changes" but I
>>> don't believe this is actually happening.  Lots of issues on the bug
>>> tracker have been closed as fixed in the new module, see issue 2636 for
>>> more data.  Some work is still being carried out on the old re module.
>
>>> So where do we stand?  Is the new module getting into Python 3.x, Python
>>> 4.y or what?
>
> Good question. I hope so.

So do I.  When? is the simple question that I'd like to see answered.

>
>>> If no do all the old issues have to be reopened and
>>> applied to the re module?
>
> I would prefer not.

So would I, but it's already been deffered twice (see below), wash 
rinse, repeat?  So should it again fail to be accepted into the Python 
core for 3.5, will there be a sensible alternative to doing precisely this?

>
>>> Who has to make the final decision on all of this?
>
> Ultimately Guido, with a lot of input

I assume that Guido could now delegate this if he wished, in the same 
way that PEPs are now delegated?

>
>>> Note that I've no direct interest as I rarely if ever use the little
>>> perishers, I just find this situation bizarre.
>
> It is definitely unfortunate and even embarrassing. At one time, the
> hangup was a minor feature incompatibility between re and regex. Guido
> was reluctant to make a switch that would occasionally break code. I
> believe that this is fixed -- by deciding to call it regex rather then re.

A definite pig's ear, but one that has been shaped by history.  It's my 
belief that it's now too late to go back and write a PEP for all the 
changes as would certainly be required now, so let's take this forward. 
  I do not know enough about the hangup or name change to comment.

>
> My impression from
> http://bugs.python.org/issue2636 Stage: patch review
> and pydev discussion is that regex did not land in 3.4 because no one
> did the rest of the needed review. I do not really know what needs to be
> done next. Being coded in C does not help speed review.

I don't recall seeing any discussion about it getting into 3.4, did I 
miss something?  Previously it didn't get into 3.3 either, see 
http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0398/ Python 3.3 Release Schedule, 
where it's listed in the section "Deferred to post-3.3:".

>
>> And FTR I'll break Armed Forces Rule No. 1 and volunteer my own
>> pitifully poor servies if I can help take this forward, as I think it's
>> daft having issues marked as fixed on the bug tracker but the fix not
>> being available in the standard library, only on pypi.
>
> Are you volunteering to list issues to be reopened, or to help with code
> review?
>

I don't mind doing any grunt work to help out.  I am not qualified to 
take on code review for a high profile Python module that is written in C.

-- 
My fellow Pythonistas, ask not what our language can do for you, ask 
what you can do for our language.

Mark Lawrence