[Python-3000] Import system questions to be considered for Py3k

[Ka-Ping Yee]

On Sun, 16 Jul 2006, Nick Coghlan wrote:
> Taking the "import system" to be the overall interaction between the
> Python module namespace and the file system of the underlying computer,
> I thought I'd start compiling a list of the questions we'll want to
> consider for Py3k.

I'd like to add "reloading" to your list.  Updating a Python interpreter
such that it reflects changes in module files is currently quite
difficult.  Calling reload() works somewhat for a single module if
it has no dependencies, but beyond that the problem gets very tricky.

It would be nice if we had a design that made it possible to achieve
such an update (even if it were expensive to do -- it would be nice
just to be able to identify the steps one would have to take to be
confident that everything was up to date).  If that's too much to ask,
i think we should at least be able to say under what conditions we
expect reloading to work (e.g. is it possible to write programs in
a style that makes reloading feasible?) and/or what guarantees a
realod will make or not make.

A coherent reloading model is one of the huge advantages that PHP
currently has over Python that contributes to the hurdles blocking
Python's use for lightweight web scripting.  When the context is
rapid prototyping, it is perhaps *the* killer advantage, outweighing
all the other flaws in PHP's language design.


-- ?!ng