[Python-Dev] Distutils ML wrap-up: setup.cfg new format (original) (raw)

Brett Cannon brett at python.org
Tue Sep 22 22:02:54 CEST 2009

On Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 12:51, Chris Withers <chris at simplistix.co.uk> wrote:

Tarek Ziadé wrote:

Yes, for the syntax bikeshedding on how conditions should be expressed, I have decided I'll be some kind of distutils dictator to end up the endless discussions on how they should be expressed so we can move on. ...except in this case, spelling is important and I'm far from the only person who would prefer you not to foist an unpalatable mess on the entire python community just because the ideas that other people prefer are not yours.

OK, stop before it gets any nastier as your email already sounds rude, Chris.

Since the language summit at PyCon 2009 various committers, including me, have been encouraging Tarek to act as distutils dictator to get things finished as we all know people are prone to bikeshedding that would kill any forward momentum we have towards improving the packaging situation. Since Tarek has been doing the legwork on all of this and continues to be the main contributor/pusher of distutils improvements I see no reason why he should not be able to short-circuit discussions when he sees them as having gone on long enough when he is the one that is going to ultimately end up doing all the coding. I honestly think Tarek listens better than most when it comes to input and tends to be extremely cordial about things.

Every decision Tarek makes, just like any decision involving Python made by anyone, is going to upset/alienate/piss off some subset of the Python community. That's just life. If it came down to distutils just sitting there with no improvement or Tarek choosing some syntax for config files that I didn't love, I personally would choose the latter as it's better than nothing and syntax is definitely one place where you can't please everyone.

-Brett

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