[Popcon-developers] Bug#571926: popularity-contest: popcon doesn't track usage of python modules in a consistent manner

[stuart+debian@nanonanonano.net (Stuart Prescott)]

Hi,

> > Perhaps add |\.py$ to that regexp?
>
> We cannot do that because the .py files are read by the python compiler at
> package installation time to generate the .pyc file, and never after, so
> the atime of the .py file is useless (it is always equal to the
> installation time).
>
> See also bug #265360.

duh... of course.

Can we come up with some way of making popcon more useful for python module 
packages then? (Other than just number of installations) The discussion of 
how widely used a package is (i.e. is it low popcon and a candidate for 
removal because it looks orphaned etc) is harder to have if you don't know if 
the X installation reports are actually using module or if it just happened 
to be installed once back on the box when it was running potato and left to 
rot there... 

As a (probably poorly-conceived) idea, would it be too much hard work for the 
popcon scripts to special-case \.py$ to actually take the atime of the 
corresponding \.pyc$ file? Popcon would need to know where 
pysupport/pycentral is sticking these files of course.

cheers
Stuart

-- 
Stuart Prescott                 www.nanoNANOnano.net