Re: Bug#128957: *.py[co] files are architecture independent

[Tollef Fog Heen <tollef@add.no>]

* Matthias Klose 

(please keep me on the Cc list, since I don't read debian-python (yet)).

| There is currently no way to switch off python's side effect of trying
| to write compiled files.

Which is a bug in python,  IMNSHO.

| - mailman does not depend on a particular python version (because it
|   runs with versions from 1.5 and up).
| 
| - assume, you install mailman, having python-1.5 as your default
|   interpreter. The python files get compiled for 1.5.
| 
| - you install python-2.1.
| 
| - mailman is a cgi application, running with www-data.www-data, so
|   now every time you call the cgi, thousends of lines are recompiled,
|   but not saved.

This is an important bug in the python policy; it should _not_ tie the
user to a specific version if that's not needed.  However, it should
provide a way for an application to recompile it's .py files when the
default interpreter changes.

| - so instead of choosing one python version, the mailman maintainer
|   gives the user the "freedom" to choose one python version, and
|   charges him with excessive runtime.

In that particular case, yes.

I've now added a note to the README.Debian saying:

  Debian's Python policy has a problem where it gives an application
  no way to recompile it's .py files when a new python version is
  installed.  This means that if you install Mailman with python
  1.5.2, then upgrade to Python 2.1, the .py files will not be
  recompiled.  This will cause performance degradation, if you
  experince this problem a "dpkg-reconfigure mailman" will fix this
  problem.  I am sorry, but there is no better way until Debian's
  Python policy is fixed.

so, I am also closing your bug with the next upload.

-- 
Tollef Fog Heen, mailman maintainer
Unix _IS_ user friendly... It's just selective about who its friends are.