python packaging, egg-info file vs. directory

[Joel Andres Granados]

Toshio Kuratomi wrote:
> Joel Andres Granados wrote:
>> Toshio Kuratomi wrote:
>>> Thomas Moschny wrote:
>>>> Hi!
>>>>
>>>> Recently encountered a problem with the python-demjson rpm I maintain:
>>>> The demjson package does not use setuptools, so, in accordance with
>>>> the python packaging guidelines, I used the trick of preloading
>>>> setuptools prior to executing setup.py, for F7 and F8 only. This
>>>> produces an egg-info directory, fine.
>>>>
>>>> Now, for F9, egg-info is generated automatically, but it turns out
>>>> that this produces an egg-info file instead of an directory. This in
>>>> turn causes problems when upgrading from F8 to F9, because rpm can't
>>>> replace a dir with a file.
>>>>
>>>> Any advices on how to solve this?
>>>>
>>>
>>> Do you have a reason to need eggs on F7 and F8?
>>
>> Thats strange, I thought it was added because of policy as opposed to 
>> reason.  Firstaidkit has no need for eggs, but the reviewer insisted 
>> on adding to them.  FWI, firstaidkit chooses to handle the plugins 
>> with rpm, which is a valid alternative to eggs.
>>
> Maybe the Guidelines need rewording.  Can you point at something in the 
> Guidelines that could be improved to show that using setuptools to add 
> eggs in F7/F8 is optional?  (All packages must handle the egg files in 
> F9+ and they must handle eggs created by packages which use setuptools 
> normally.  The optional part is when adding eggs to a package which 
> doesn't provide them on its own.)
> 
> -Toshio
> 
maybe change it a little:
Change the "when to provide eggs"  in http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging/Python/Eggs
"
Starting with Fedora 9, our python package provides egg-info for any distutils and setuptools packages. Since this establishes a base of functionality that upstream authors can expect, we need to be sure we include those files when needed. In Fedora 8 and below eggs can be provided when the package uses setuptools.  In this case eggs are optional.  In F9+ eggs have to be provided when the upstream package provides them and are optional when the upstream package does not provide them.
"
What do you think about this?

-- 
Joel Andres Granados