Re: Debian Python policy.

[Neil Schemenauer <nas@python.ca>]

Donovan Baarda wrote:
> First off, you need to clarify what you are attempting to achieve. There are 
> three possibile aims as I see it;
> 
> 1) single "official" version of Python in archive/distro.
> 2) multiple alternative versions of Python in archive/distro, only one 
> installed at a time.
> 3) multiple alternatives versions of Python installed at a time.

I am aiming for option 3.  There would be one official "python" package.
Most packaged modules depend on that package.  If people want to package
older versions of Python they may do so.  Those packages are independent
of the "python" package.

> Option 1 means every time Python upgrades, all packages dependant on
> that version of Python are broken and have to be upgraded, with old
> versions removed from the distro.

If you change the major or minor version of Python installed then
packages that depend on it must be upgraded.  There is no way around
that.

> Your policy seems to be aiming for Option 3... the hardest, but is
> that really what we want?

Using alternatives for Python is not a good idea, IMHO.  The Perl
packagers tried this and it was a nightmare.


  Neil