[Python-ideas] High time for a builtin function to manage packages (simply)?

[Stephen J. Turnbull]

Nathaniel Smith writes:

 > That seems more productive in the short run than trying to
 > get everyone to stop typing "pip" :-).

FWIW, I did as soon as I realized python_i_want_to_install -m pip
worked; it's obvious that it DTRTs, and I felt like I'd just dropped
the hammer I'd been whacking my head with.

 > (Though I do agree that having pip as a separate command from
 > python is a big mess -- another case where this comes up is the
 > need for pip versus pip3.)

Ah, that's the name of my hammer, although it's come up in 3.2 vs 3.3
as well.

 > It sounds like this is another place where in the short term, it would
 > help a lot of pip at startup took a peek at $PATH and issued some
 > warnings or errors if it detected the most common types of
 > misconfiguration? (E.g. the first python/python3 in $PATH does not
 > match the one being used to run pip.)

I don't understand the logic for trying to save the pip command by
making its environment checking more complex than the app itself.
"python -m pip" suffers from no problems that pip itself doesn't
suffer from, and is far more reliable, without blaming the user.
Sure, people used to using a pip command shouldn't be deprived of it,
but I'll never miss it, and I don't see why anybody who isn't already
using it would miss it.

The only problem with "python -m pip" is discoverability/memorability,
and the fact that interactive use of "from pip import main" is not
properly supported IIUC (not to mention clumsy).  Thus the proposal
for a builtin named "install" or similar.