Re: when and why did python(-minimal) become essential?
Josselin Mouette <joss@debian.org> writes:
> There have already been - admittedly sporadic - proposals to rewrite
> some key parts of the system, like the init scripts or adduser, in
> python. However, if the proponent knows from the beginning the
> implementation wouldn't be accepted because of the language it is
> written in, you can't expect him to start working on it.
Well, if those people don't mind their policies, now there's Ubuntu with
python in essential. That work, if good, won't go to waste even if Debian
doesn't want it. There's a testing ground in Ubuntu for rewriting some
core component in Python and making it much better, so much better that we
all gasp in appreciation and want it in Debian too.
Not all rewrites are improvements, so I don't get particularly excited
about people's plans to rewrite something and make it so much better. Few
rewrites that are started actually finish. The few that are often
introduce lots of new bugs in exchange for the old, known, worked-around
bugs.
--
Russ Allbery (rra@debian.org) <http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/>
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