[Python-Dev] PEP 3147, __pycache__ directories and umask

[Ben Finney]

Antoine Pitrou <solipsis at pitrou.net> writes:

Steven D'Aprano <steve at pearwood.info> writes:

> On Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:35:43 am Ben Finney wrote:
> > > On 23.03.2010 02:28, Ben Finney wrote:
> > > > <URL:http://www.debian.org/doc/packaging-manuals/fhs/fhs-2.3.html
> > > >#VARCACHEAPPLICATIONCACHEDATA>
> > > >
> > > > This would suggest that Python could start using
> > > > ‘/var/cache/python/’ for its cached bytecode tree on systems
> > > > that implement the FHS.
> > […] There's no implication that data-which-happens-to-be-code is
> > unsuitable for storage in ‘/var/cache/foo/’. Easily-regenerated
> > Python byte code for caching meets the description quite well,
> > AFAICT.
>
> While I strongly approve of the concept of a central cache directory
> for many things, I don't think that .pyc files fit the bill.
>
> Since there is no privileged python user that runs all Python code,
> and since any unprivileged user needs to be able to write .pyc files,

Hold up; my understanding is that, as Antoine Pitrou says:

> The main point of the __pycache__ proposal is to solve the needs of
> Ubuntu/Debian packagers. If you are developing (rather than deploying
> or building packages), you shouldn't have these needs AFAICT.

So, the packaging system will, by definition, have access to write to
FHS directories and those directories don't need to be world-writable.

-- 
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Ben Finney