[Python-Dev] Status of packaging in 3.3

[Paul Moore]

On 20 June 2012 11:34, Tarek Ziadé <tarek at ziade.org> wrote:
> On 6/20/12 11:54 AM, Antoine Pitrou wrote:
>>
>> On Wed, 20 Jun 2012 09:51:03 +0000 (UTC)
>> Vinay Sajip<vinay_sajip at yahoo.co.uk>  wrote:
>>>
>>> Antoine Pitrou<solipsis<at>  pitrou.net>  writes:
>>>
>>>> Deciding to remove packaging from 3.3 is another instance of the same
>>>> mistake, IMO.
>>>>
>>> What's the rationale for leaving it in, when it's known to be
>>> incomplete/unfinished?
>>
>> As an incentive for users to start using the features that are
>> finished enough, and exercise the migration path from distutils.
>> The module can be marked "provisional" so as to allow further API
>> variations.
>
> It's true that some modules are quite mature and already useful:
>
> - packaging.version     (PEP 386)
> - packaging.pypi
> - packaging.metadata  (PEP 345)
> - packaging.database   (PEP 386)
>
> the part that is not ready is the installer and some setuptools bridging

I've never seen that information mentioned before. So that's (good) news.

A question, then. Why is it not an option to:

1. Rip out all bar those 4 modules.
2. Make sure they are documented and tested solidly (they may already
be, I don't know).
3. Declare that to be what packaging *is* for Python 3.3.

Whether any of those modules are of any use in isolation, is a
slightly more complex question. As is whether the APIs are guaranteed
to be sufficient for further development on "the rest" of packaging,
given that by doing this we commit to API stability and backward
compatibility. Your comment "quite mature and already useful" is not
quite firm enough to reassure me that we're ready to set those modules
in stone (although presumably the 3 relating to the PEPs are, simply
because they implement what the PEPs say).

Paul.