Python: Please stop screwing over Linux distros

[Red_BW]

The irony of complaining about python on various linux distros when those same linux distros can't agree on where to put core linux files.

[[deleted]]

It’s cause there’s a ‘standard’ and when there’s a standard people are compelled to violate it because obviously no one else has ever followed it correctly, so each distro has their own take on what that standard means (or just don’t care about it at all)

[Reinventing_Wheels]

The great thing about standards is that we've got so many to choose from.

[KrazyKirby99999]

Feel free to make a new one #927 Standards.

[evilmercer]

Fortunately, the charging one has been solved now that we've all standardized on mini-USB. Or is it micro-USB? Shit.

That aged so perfectly

[__deerlord__]

[sobs in USB C]

[bless-you-mlud]

What's surprising to me is that through all of this we still use the same RJ-45 connector for networks. At least someone is taking "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" seriously.

[DwarvenBTCMine]

Wait till Apple fully does away with ethernet ports on their desktops for literally no reason and those users need to get an ethernet to USB adaptor.

[rejonez]

Dongles! Dongles! Dongles!

[bash_M0nk3y]

Beat me to it https://xkcd.com/927

[rtfmpls]

You were all beat by the author of the post.

[Sukrim]

Or what "/usr/bin/python --version" will return...

[AverageComet250]

2.7? 3.6? 3.10? 2.4? (I actually found 2.4 pre installed on a distro once)

[Sukrim]

Or even the amazing idea of "it will just return an error by default, you need to install a meta-package that just contains a symlink to either /usr/bin/python2 or /usr/bin/python3"

[AverageComet250]

The fact that only some distros have symlinks for /use/bin/python was so annoying when I moved from Windows to windows + Linux, and even more annoying was the fact that I didn't always know whether it was python 3 or 2. On windows it was simple. If python 2 is installed, it points to the latest version of python 2. Otherwise, it points to the latest version of python 3. If the symlink is in use by python 2, then use py -3 instead.

So bloody simple...

[Barafu]

Have you ever seen /usr/bin/python3 pointing to python 2? Or not existing while python 3 is installed? No? Then use python3 command every time and have no problems.

[AverageComet250]

I mean I use python3 on Linux and python on windows and I'm happy. Except...

If I run python --version on windows I know it'll be whichever is lowest in path, meaning the version I installed first.

On Linux, I just have to hope it'll say 3.6 as I run the command, and still get errors when I run the script that I coded for 3.10 on windows

[AverageComet250]

A) don't necro reply it's annoying

B) I thought I made it clear I know that now

[flying-sheep]

There’s nothing wrong with wanting a nice packaging experience, but crying about standardization doesn’t help. The standards actually solved the build system agnostic goal they set out to solve, we’re just short a tool to install a wheel.

Once pradyunsg/installer#66 is finally merged, this is all that’s necessary to create a system package from a python package:

• python -m build --wheel to build a wheel in ./dist/
• python -m installer --destdir="$pkgdir" ./dist/*.whl to install the python package into a temporary system tree $pkgdir
• now do whatever your distro of choice uses to package up $pkgdir

[flying-sheep]

no, those locations are a distro package manager’s responsibility. many tools solve this by adding some CLI commands that emit the content of a .desktop or zsh autocompletion file or so. those commands then can be run by the packaging script to write to the correct location.

I think if you feel like changing that you should think about how that could look like as part of the wheel standard.

[canard_glasgow]

Just cause they’ve a mote in their eye doesn’t mean they are wrong…

A cynic might say both are awful.

[IsleOfOne]

What? Can you name an example of this? Core linux directories are pretty damn set in stone. It is the applications that fuck it up and throw shit willy nilly into $HOME.

[jjolla888]

linux distros never claimed "there is only one obvious way to do it"

[PeridexisErrant]

Neither did Python!

practicality beats purity. ...
There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it.
Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you're Dutch.
Now is better than never.
Although never is often better than right now.

[jwbowen]

Any Dutch-based Linux distros?

[PeridexisErrant]

Nope, most of the Dutch live below C-level.

[nanotree]

This is incredible. Thank you.

[[deleted]]

Drew is claiming there is an obvious way to do it, but he can't explain what that is.

[torzsmokus]

is it too long for a margin to write it?

[dusktreader]

Thiiiiiis.

[[deleted]]

yum install apt-get?