[Python-Dev] Re: Stability and change

[Andrew Kuchling]

On Mon, Apr 08, 2002 at 11:38:19AM -0400, Barry A. Warsaw wrote:
>I wonder if decoupling more of the standard library isn't a good idea,
>although it flies in the face of "batteries included".  One thing I

I'd like this approach, though perhaps the "Batteries Included"
distribution rather than the standard library should be handled like
this.  It would also require finalizing a catalog implementation (at
last!),

An open question is how to avoid the CPAN trap of having your modules
require you to upgrade your Python installation.  Perhaps each module
version would specify the Python version it's compatible with.

   Module version         compat. with
     0.0.1                  Py2.1
     0.0.2                  Py2.1
     0.0.5                  Py2.2

So when you're on Python 2.1, you can only get upgraded to 0.0.2.  The
problem is, if the developer of version 0.0.5 didn't realize that it
was incompatible with 2.1, you'll get upgraded to it and your system
will be broken.  

(Take package management far enough and you begin to reinvent Debian's
APT.  I wonder if we could write a dpkg-like tool in Python and then
just use APT on top of that?)

--amk                                                             (www.amk.ca)
Nothing I've ever written has reached 1.0.
    -- Greg Ward at IPC7, on using small version numbers