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2.2.x backports of 2.3.x new features?

Mike C. Fletcher mcfletch at rogers.com
Tue Dec 10 18:11:39 EST 2002 
(comments below)

Richard Jones wrote:

>On Wed, 11 Dec 2002 6:32 am, Mike C. Fletcher wrote:
>  
>
>>Looking through the What's New in 2.3 document, there's a number of
>>modules which seem like they could be readily back-ported to 2.2.x (the
>>"stable target" for Python).
>>    
>>
>
>It's not entirely clear from your post, but I get the impression you're 
>advocating that the modules be included in the 2.2.3+ distributions of 
>python. As I understand the maintenance release rules, that's never going to 
>happen. The maintenance releases don't include new features, ever(*).
>
>
>     Richard
>
>*: unless they do <wink> (2.2.2 included a "feature update" version of the 
>email package, 'with special dispensation from the "bugfixes only" rule')
>  
>

In fact, I am not necessarily interested in these features becoming part 
of the official 2.2.x releases (that would be fine, as long as there is 
a way to disable the inclusion, but it's not my particular focus). 
 Instead, I'm considering this more as a target for the Python in a Tie 
group, which is intending to create a stable business-focused 
distribution of Python.  

The only reason I mentioned the 2.3.x release Czar was to ask which if 
any of these features are going into the 2.2.3 release, so that the rest 
of the set could be considered candidates for inclusion in a Python in a 
Tie back-ports package.

The rationale for creating a back-ports package for standard-library 
enhancements is fairly simple:

    * the features are likely without dependency on particular 2.3.x
      core functionality (there isn't much new core functionality which
      is likely to have been exploited in these particular modules),
      which should make the features easy to back-port
    * each of these modules is considered important enough to have been
      included in the standard library for 2.3.x
          o this argues that the modules are likely to be useful under
            2.2.x as well
    * none of the particular features I've outlined have any particular
      connection with functionality around them (i.e. encapsulation
      makes these modules, packages and functions largely side-effect free).
          o In a sense, the default distribution of Python is actually
            two (or dozens, depending on how you look at it)
            distributions, one being the core interpreter, the second
            being the standard library (or, alternatively, the other
            dozens being the individual modules and packages in the
            standard library).  The features provided by
            standard-library 2.3.x are likely to be quite useful in
            Python 2.2.x.
    * although logging and Optik are likely still available separately,
      the other pieces of code are not likely available as separate
      packages at the moment, and the 2.3.x versions of all of the
      packages are probably diverging somewhat from the original code
    * even if individual modules/packages are available separately, it
      would be convenient to be able to install the entire
      standard-library 2.3 upgrade without needing to track down the
      individual packages
    * as the 2.3.x wagon rolls along, there will be 2.3.x-targeted
      modules which rely on standard-library 2.3, being able to specify
      a single dependency (i.e. standard library 2.3) would be convenient

Though I am not particularly interested in including the 2.3 standard 
library update in maintenance releases, it might be useful for many 
users to include the 2.3 standard library update as an optional 
installation package in the 2.2.x maintenance release installers (I'm 
thinking of the Windows installer in particular, where including a 
particular package as optional allows the user to simply check or 
un-check the package for installation, which would allow the user to 
specify whether they want to use standard library 2.2 or standard 
library 2.3).

Of course, when we finally get the Comprehensive Python Archive Network 
built, these kind of packaging issues should become largely an 
unpleasant memory :) , then we will simply do an update for 
standard-library-2.3, which will depend on (and thereby force the 
installation of) the updated versions of each of the updated 
packages/modules. Until then, Python in a Tie's collection is probably 
the closest thing we will have.

Enjoy yourselves,
Mike

_______________________________________
  Mike C. Fletcher
  Designer, VR Plumber, Coder
  http://members.rogers.com/mcfletch/
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