[Edu-sig] Bootable Python CDs?

[David Boddie]

On Friday 28 April 2006 01:31, Ian Bicking wrote:
> David Boddie wrote:

> > These days it could be implemented more cleanly using the improved import
> > hook mechanism.
>
> You are right, that wasn't hard at all:
> http://svn.colorstudy.com/home/ianb/httpimport.py
>
> I haven't tested this seriously, and I'm not sure about the performance.
>   Mmm... data loading also fits in.

I don't think you need to worry about the performance. These are the main
problems with my implementation that I found disappointing:

 1. There's no way to import shared library modules unless you want to
    cache them on disk before loading them. Having said that, I could
    probably think of some possible workarounds. Ideally, for low level
    stuff that needed these, you'd have a selection of different versions
    for different operating systems and architectures on the server, and
    the import hook would request the relevant one behind the scenes.

 2. The help command didn't work properly, making it less useful for
    interactive use.

In the end, an enhanced interpreter/workbook application could do lots of
these extra things without needing to bend the rules of the import system.
On the other hand, it's fun to code things that make you think differently
about the language and interpreter.

David