[Python-Dev] PEP 273 - Import from Zip Archives (original) (raw)

Gordon McMillan gmcm@hypernet.com
Thu, 28 Feb 2002 10:55:39 -0500

[M.-A. Lemburg]

> > This would be nice to have, but how do you > > bootstrap the importer if it's written in Python ?

The response to "let's revamp C import" is "Oh no, we need a chance to play with it in Python first."

[Thomas Heller]

> Have you looked at imputil? It bootstraps itself only > from builtin modules (which may be the only mechanism > to be in the core).

True when Greg wrote it, but strop is now depecrated, and not necessarily builtin. It's still the best route, because strop has no dependencies, while string does.

Sure, but for finding imputil itself you still need the C import mechanism. Even worse: if Python can't find imputil (for some reason), it would be completely broken.

If Python can't find the std lib, it's broken. No change there.

My only gripe with the existing C implementation is that I would like to have more hooks available.

All the more reason to try it in Python first. There's never been agreement about what hooks should be available. The import-sig was founded so ihooks defenders could hash it out with imputil defenders (the ihooks camp has never said a word).

It's my observation that most import hacks these days are really namespace hacks anyway (that is, they do a relatively normal import, and then alter the way it's exposed so that "replace dots with slashes and look in the filesystem" no longer applies).

-- Gordon http://www.mcmillan-inc.com/