enhancement request: make py3 read/write py2 pickle format

[Steven D'Aprano]

On Wednesday 10 June 2015 13:57, random832 at fastmail.us wrote:

> On Tue, Jun 9, 2015, at 23:52, Steven D'Aprano wrote:
>> > For human readable serialized data, text format protocol buffers are
>> > seriously underrated. (Relatedly: underdocumented, too.)
>> 
>> Ironically, literal_eval is designed to process text-format protocols
>> using
>> human-readable Python syntax for common data types like int, str, and
>> dict.
> 
> "protocol buffers" is the name of a specific tool.

It is? It sounds like a generic term for, you know, a buffer used by a 
protocol. I live and learn.

https://developers.google.com/protocol-buffers/docs/pythontutorial

You have to:

- write a data template, in a separate file; just don't call it a schema, 
because this isn't XML;

- don't forget the technically-optional-but-recommended (and required if you 
use other languages) "package" header, which is completely redundant in 
Python;

- run a separate compiler over that template, which will generate Python 
classes for you; just don't think that these classes are first class 
citizens that you can extend using inheritance, because they're not;

- import the generated module containing those classes;

- and now you have you're very own private pickle-like format, yay!


I'm sure that this has its uses for big, complex projects, but for 
lightweight needs, it seems over-engineered and unPythonic.

-- 
Steve