[Distutils] I think I need more detail in the build directory

[Jack Jansen]

On zondag, nov 17, 2002, at 23:06 Europe/Amsterdam, M.-A. Lemburg wrote:

> Jack Jansen wrote:
>> Folks,
>> I think I need more details in the filenames (the temp. and lib. 
>> ones) in the build directory.
>> On MacOSX there are two ways to build Python: in the traditional unix 
>> way (statically linked, prefix is usually /usr or /usr/local) or in 
>> the all-singing-all-dancing framework way (dynamically linked with 
>> extra bells and whistles, the python installation deep down in 
>> /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/etcetcetc, with a symlink 
>> "python" usually in /usr/local/bin). Extension modules for these two 
>> Pythons are incompatible, but unfortunately they don't realise that, 
>> and things may even sort-of work some of the time.
>> Note that this problem has really existed all along, and on all 
>> platforms (try building a module with a refcount-debug python, and 
>> then doing a setup install with a non-refcount-debug python for a 
>> nasty surprise), but for MacOSX it may now become an end-user 
>> problem, since Apple ships Python in Jaguar and this is a static 
>> python, but to get access to the MacPython goodies people will 
>> download a source distribution and build a framework python.
>> I have an idea on a solution to this, but I'm not sure whether it's 
>> feasible (and correct:-):
>> 1. Encode features that make a python interpreter and a module 
>> incompatible in PYTHON_API_VERSION. We have about 20 bits left in 
>> there. This would however require convincing the core developers.
>> 2. Use PYTHON_API_VERSION in stead of the "2.3" style version in the 
>> distutils filenames.
>
> Rather than trying to be clever here, why not add an option to
> distutils to let the packager add an arbitrary directory name
> extension to the build dir ?!

You miss the point. The problem is not with specific packages, the 
problem is general. The directory names within "build" are supposed to 
be encoded in such a way that you can do "python setup.py build" with 
two different pythons and the files created for the two pythons won't 
conflict.

As it is now this works fine if the two pythons differ in version 
number or if the two pythons are for different platforms. It does not 
work, however, if the two pythons are the same version and run on the 
same platform, but differ in another incompatible way.
--
- Jack Jansen        <Jack.Jansen@oratrix.com>        
http://www.cwi.nl/~jack -
- If I can't dance I don't want to be part of your revolution -- Emma 
Goldman -