Re: Using python + pygtk in Desktop modules (was Re: RevisitingtheGnome Bindings)

["Murray Cumming" <murrayc murrayc com>]

> On Tue, 2004-09-28 at 16:40 +0200, Murray Cumming wrote:
>> >> When a new version is released with python-2.4, the *new* pygtk-2.4
>> >> package distributed with *this* version of the operating system would
>> be
>> >> compiled against python-2.4 and install its files into the python-2.4
>> >> versioned module directory.
>> >>
>> >> Is this not how it works at the moment? If not, why not?
>> >
>> > When all of your libraries are distributed by the OS vendor, sure.
>> >
>> > Say though that you have a third-party app written for pygtk which
>> > includes its own libraries that are installed solely for python 2.3.
>> > When python 2.4 comes along, that app *must* continue using 2.3.
>> Which
>> > means the app must be hard coded to only invoke the python 2.3 binary.
>> > Which is distribution specific.  Which forces app authors to release
>> > updated packages for their apps for newer distributions.
>>
>> Surely distributions are unlikely to move the python-2.3 binary? I admit
>> that I'd prefer some more generic way of specifying the python version,
>> but choosing that !# just seems like part of the packaging to me.
>
> Yes - part of the packaging.  Which is the problem, as explained below.

I don't see where you say below that that's a problem.

>> >  Which
>> > effectively kills any purpose of having ABI stability.
>>
>> It makes it difficult to have cross-distro packages, but that's not what
>> we're talking about here.
>
> Not just cross distro, cross distro release.  A package has to be made
> for every architecture (for compiled modules) of every version of every
> distro that you want to support.

Are you suggesting that a RedHat 10.2 pyMyApp package will not work when I
upgrade to RedHat 10.3? IF yes, then why exactly, if pyMyApp uses the #!
technique?

I think you need to explain the pratical problem more precisely.

You don't need to tell us that API and ABI stability are important. We
know that. But so far it looks to me like upgrading python does not break
either compilation or execution of applications or modules that are
properly installed, because they have no contact whatsoever with the new
version of python that you install - and that sounds like API and ABI
stability to me.

I'm not a Python expert, so you might need to explain it slowly and clearly.

Murray Cumming
murrayc murrayc com
www.murrayc.com
www.openismus.com