[Distutils] Upcoming changes to PEP 426/440

[Vinay Sajip]

Nick Coghlan <ncoghlan <at> gmail.com> writes:

> * "install": the installation specifier for the dependency
> * "extra": as per the current PEP (for conditional dependencies)
> * "environment": as per the current PEP (for conditional dependencies)
> 
> 4. The "install" subfield is compulsory, the other two are optional
> (as now, using either of the latter creates a "conditional
> dependency", while dependency declarations with only the "install"
> subfield are unconditional)
> 
> 5. An installation specifier is what PEP 426 currently calls a
> dependency specifier: the "name [extras] (constraints)" format. They
> will get their own top level section (similar to the existing Extras
> and Environment markers sections)

Is there a particular benefit of the install subfield being a single
installation specifier, as opposed to a list of such specifiers? It's
perhaps neither here nor there for machine-processed metadata, but I expect
this metadata would have human readers too. Not using a list would lead to
more verbose metadata.

Regards,

Vinay Sajip