Python 2 to 3 conversion - embrace the pain

[Chris Angelico]

On Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 2:04 PM, Mario Figueiredo <marfig at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 17 Mar 2015 09:02:38 +1100, Chris Angelico <rosuav at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>>
>>Imagine you need a
>>PostgreSQL database for your Python application - which also means you
>>need psycopg2, of course. How do you go about writing installation
>>instructions?
>>
>>* WINDOWS *
>>1) Install the latest Python 3 from https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/
>>2) Install the appropriate version of psycopg2 from
>>http://www.stickpeople.com/projects/python/win-psycopg/
>>3) Install the latest PostgreSQL from
>>http://www.postgresql.org/download/windows/
>>4) Install my program from blah blah blah
>>
>
> Are you saying this is a problem for any developer? Especially
> considering this is a one-time operation...

I'm talking about how you write your installation instructions. At
some point, an end user has to turn a bare system into a system
capable of running your application, and that process involves
installing your application and everything that it needs. It's not a
one-time operation for the dev himself/herself, it's a standard
action[1] that has to be done by every user of your software.

The simpler you can make those instructions, the easier it is for
people to use your program. So on Windows, that probably means you
have to bundle everything into a big fat .exe or .msi installer, which
is what leads to DLL Hell when everyone bundles their own
copies/versions of what ought to be DLLs. Either that, or you tell
people to go install the pieces separately... which is what I'm
talking about above.

At least with a package manager you can tie in with that for most of the work.

ChrisA

[1] In D&D terms, of course, a "standard action" is a lot quicker than
installing anything under Windows. But I digress.