[Python-Dev] Deprecate PEP 370 Per user site-packages directory? (original) (raw)

Brett Cannon brett at python.org
Sat Jan 13 15:01:02 EST 2018

On Sat, Jan 13, 2018, 11:13 Miro Hrončok, <mhroncok at redhat.com> wrote:

On 13.1.2018 18:06, Christian Heimes wrote: > Nowadays Python has venv in the standard library. The user-specific > site-packages directory is no longer that useful. I would even say it's > causing more trouble than it's worth. For example it's common for system > script to use "#!/usr/bin/python3" shebang without -s or -I option.

While I consider venvs easy and cool, this just moves the barrier for the users a little bit higher. We (Fedora Python SIG) are fighting users that run sudo pip install all the time (because the Interwebz are full of such instructions). The users might be willing to listen to "please, don't use pip with sudo, use --user instead". However, if you tell them "learn how to use a venv", they'll just stick with sudo. > I propose to deprecate the feature and remove it in Python 4.0. We would very much like to see --user the default rather than having it removed.

I concur with Miro. On VS Code we rely on people installing the e.g. linter of their choosing. We have been moving people away from sudo installs to user installs to minimize polluting the system Python (and we are doing what we can to promote venvs by using them automatically when present, but we can only do so much).

Basically the only way I see it being reasonable to drop user installs is if we move entirely to venvs for installs and I think that's probably too radical to work.

-Brett

-- Miro Hrončok -- Phone: +420777974800 IRC: mhroncok

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