[Python-ideas] Official MySQL module

[Joao S. O. Bueno]

On 8 March 2013 14:45, Guido van Rossum <guido at python.org> wrote:
> On Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 6:07 AM, Joao S. O. Bueno <jsbueno at python.org.br> wrote:
>> On 8 March 2013 08:01, Eric V. Smith <eric at trueblade.com> wrote:
>>> We include webbrowser, but no web browser. imaplib, but
>>> no imap server. Etc.
>>
>>
>> Picking only this point - becuase it highlights what is bothering me:
>> In my lectures, I use to justify Python not including (up to now)
>> bindings for MySQL or PostgreSQL , in contrast to offering
>> ways to interoperate with imap, http, and pop, because the former
>> are "products" and the later are "standards" - and it would not be
>> well for a language standard library  to include "other's products" in
>> it (and yes, on my lecture I talked about this in contrast with PHP).
>
> That sounds rather an idealized opinion, and not a very useful
> attitude. Some "standards" represent commercial interests. The
> "products" you mention are in fact well-respected open source
> projects.
>
> But anyway, Python's standard library (unlike GNU) does not have an ax
> to grind about what software should or should not be supported from an
> ethical perspective. It is all about what is useful to a large enough
> number of Python users, and what is feasible given the available
> volunteer power and the technical properties of the software in
> question.
>
>> So, I do feel a bit uncomfortable with the idea of  including bindings for
>> 3rd party databases in the stdlib - but I think that is an emotional thing
>> only , and can easily be rationalized away with
>> "practicality beats purity"  - and the mention somewhere else that
>> in Free Software environment, saying "3rd party"  can be
>> misleading.
>
> I do not understand this last phrase.

It does not amtter much - it is that I did not remember if it was in this thread
or in another list that someone wrote "in Open Source we don't usually
refer to other projects as 3rd party" (and it happened it was on another list).
Anyway, you just clarified exactly what I intended to mean above with
""" The  "products" you mention are in fact well-respected open source
 projects."""

All in all - the argument I cited on the grand-parent message was
something I build
in lectures to address PHP people querying about built-in
MySQL support - and I _do_ agree with "pratically beats purity" - or
as you expanded
it: """ Python's standard library (unlike GNU) does not have an ax
 to grind about what software should or should not be supported from an
 ethical perspective."""

Thanks for the response anyway.
Now..onto those PEPs  :-)

(maybe someone would like to tackle writing CFFI based drivers
for PostgreSQL and MySQL?  :-)   )

  js
 -><-

>
> --
> --Guido van Rossum (python.org/~guido)