Re: python packaging infrastructure

[Josselin Mouette <joss@debian.org>]

Le lundi 16 janvier 2006 à 15:24 +0100, Matthias Klose a écrit :
> > Python-support already handles private modules. As for extensions, I
> > don't think we should change the current packaging practise. Packaging
> > them is already complicated enough as it is.
> 
> yes, a reason to simplify this. AFAIK the support for private modules
> is based on your stateful approach, which will go away?

I don't intend to remove the support for private modules. Either the
stateful approach remains for them, or it is replaced by another
approach, with e.g. a file for each package containing the list of
directories to rebuild.

> > I am not arguing against keeping several versions of the interpreter
> > available. Developers need to test their applications with different
> > versions. Now, if we have:
> > - python-only modules and private modules handled by python-support;
> > - several python2.X versions available in the archive;
> > - for extensions, several python2.X-foo and a default python-foo as we
> > do today;
> > with all of this, testing each application against a new python version
> > outside the archive becomes possible. Not trivial, but possible.
> 
> This is the right direction, and adding support for extensions makes
> this complete. Does your proposal allow rebuilding these packages
> without actually changing anything (except the changelog).

Being able to rebuild packages for a new python version without changing
anything was the purpose of dh_python from the very beginning, for both
packaging styles:
      * for packages with a single python-foo package containing
        extension foo, build-depending on python-dev, a rebuild will
        generate a new package built against the new version;
      * for packages with python2.3-foo and python2.4-foo, a rebuild
        will make python-foo depend on the new version. The only case
        that isn't handled is when the package isn't maintained much,
        and lacks python2.5-foo when the python2.5 transition
        approaches.
This is independent of python-support.
-- 
 .''`.           Josselin Mouette        /\./\
: :' :           josselin.mouette@ens-lyon.org
`. `'                        joss@debian.org
   `-  Debian GNU/Linux -- The power of freedom