Re: PyCon 2013 -- tentative title/abstract/outline -- feedback plz

[Nicolas Chauvat <nicolas.chauvat@logilab.fr>]

Hi Yaroslav,

On Wed, Sep 26, 2012 at 11:40:58AM -0400, Yaroslav Halchenko wrote:
> To not be too ambitious and to not invest too much time I have decided to
> submit only a talk.  Here follows a perspective title, abstract and some
> notes/outline which will not be a part of submission.  I would really
> appreciate (and of cause would acknowledge in the slides) any feedback, ideas,
> comments, etc.

I suggest you would also try to describe the differences between The
Complete Python Distribution On Debian and the others ways there are
to install Python packages.

When I say "I do not need all this easy_install, pip, virtualenv,
distribute/packaging, buildout, /etc/ for I have Debian!", I am
usually told:

- but we have to work on Windows
- but we are not root on the computer we are using and can't run apt-get
- but I want a newer version of X than the one included in Debian
- but I am not doing deployment/production and for development I need the
  latest versions of these modules because this component I rely on
  says so
- I am preparing things for production, so I need everything to be
  reproducible independently of the underlying system
- etc.

I think being prepared to answer these questions and maybe address
some of these issues directly in your slides would help make clear
what Debian is a good solution for.

Possible answers are:

- windows: if it hurts, stop doing it and install virtualbox :p
- not root: try a virtual machine (or maybe a variant of chroot?)
- newer: are you ready to handle all the compatibility/dependency
  problems on your own ?
- dev: packaging python modules is easier than getting a full
  distribution to work right, take a look at the
  GSoC project that packages PyPI/*, your new-and-shiny stuff is
  probably there
- prod: you want a chroot or a virtual machine.
- etc.

Hope this helps,

PS: by the way, would anyone know of a way to use chroot or something
similar to allow any user to have any number of virtual environments
that use apt-get to install stuff and fall-back to the system if
something is not installed in the virtualenv ?

-- 
Nicolas Chauvat

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