[Python-Dev] magic in setuptools (Was: setuptools in the stdlib) (original) (raw)

"Martin v. Löwis" martin at v.loewis.de
Thu Apr 20 22:59:21 CEST 2006

Bob Ippolito wrote:

They DO NOT compete any more than source packages do. eggs are packages plus metadata, nothing more. What eggs do and what rpm/msi/deb does are orthogonal. It's entirely reasonable that in the future rpm/msi/deb will simply be a delivery mechanism for eggs.

That might be your view, but it apparently isn't the view of the inventor(s). From

http://peak.telecommunity.com/DevCenter/setuptools

Create Python Eggs - a single-file importable distribution format

http://peak.telecommunity.com/DevCenter/PythonEggs

'"Eggs are to Pythons as Jars are to Java..."'

'There are several binary formats that embody eggs, but the most common is '.egg' zipfile format, because it's a convenient one for distributing projects.'

'.egg files are a "zero installation" format for a Python package;'

So the .egg inventors do view .egg files (i.e. the .egg zipfile format) as a distribution format, just like rpm/msi/deb are distribution formats (none of them "zero installation", though, you always have to perform some deployment activity).

Regards, Martin

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