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Re: Using a ChangeLog as a canonical source of package metadata

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Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> writes:

> I currently read this metadata from the Python code itself. The
> advantages of putting the metadata into the source code include:
>
> - the source code is the definitive source of information about itself;

The Changelog document should be in the same source tree and maintained
by the same people, so I don't count that as a difference between the
two approaches.

> - even if the user deletes the README and CHANGELOG files, they can 
>   still find the metadata;

Perhaps I didn't emphasise it, but: The approach I'm advocating (as
inspired by Debian packaging tools) has the version metadata
*canonically* recorded in the Changelog, but not *only* stored there.

The packaging tools parse the version metadata from the Changelog, then
duplicate whatever metadata is needed in various other places — such as
for programmatic access by the package's own code.

> - if your application wants to report a version number (as many apps 
>   do) then it is easy for them to do so.

The idea is to parse from the Changelog the version metadata, and record
it in Setuptools metadata. Then the ‘pkg_resources’ module of Setuptools
allows programmatic access to that metadata.

Thanks for enumerating those points, I think they are adequately
addressed by this approach.


> > I've now produced a small Python library which knows how to
> > transform a reST Changelog to package metadata; and how to get that
> > package metadata into and out of a Python distribution with
> > Distutils.
>
> Sounds interesting. Where can we see this?

It is the approach used in ‘python-daemon’ version 2. Find the source at
<URL:https://alioth.debian.org/projects/python-daemon/>. The
‘ChangeLog’, ‘setup.py’, ‘version.py’, ‘daemon/_metadata.py’ files are
the relevant ones to examine.

Since this is a new approach I'm trying, I flubbed a couple of versions:
you'll need version 2.0.1 or later (I omitted the ‘version’ module
entirely from the earlier distribution), and you'll need ‘docutils’
already installed (a future ‘python-daemon’ distribution will declare
this dependency).

I'll be interested to see how Python developers like this.

-- 
 \      “The process by which banks create money is so simple that the |
  `\     mind is repelled.” —John Kenneth Galbraith, _Money: Whence It |
_o__)                                       Came, Where It Went_, 1975 |
Ben Finney

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Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a Steven D'Aprano <steve@pearwood.info> - 2015-01-08 04:35 +0000
  Re: Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a Ben Finney <ben+python@benfinney.id.au> - 2015-01-08 18:12 +1100
    Re: Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2015-01-08 22:16 +1100
      Re: Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a Irmen de Jong <irmen.NOSPAM@xs4all.nl> - 2015-01-08 23:32 +0100
        Re: Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2015-01-09 11:41 +1100
          Re: Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2015-01-09 11:50 +1100
            Re: Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a alister <alister.nospam.ware@ntlworld.com> - 2015-01-09 09:05 +0000
              Re: Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a Ben Finney <ben+python@benfinney.id.au> - 2015-01-09 22:01 +1100
                Re: Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a alister <alister.nospam.ware@ntlworld.com> - 2015-01-09 11:42 +0000
          Where to learn current best Python packaging practices (was: Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a) Ben Finney <ben+python@benfinney.id.au> - 2015-01-09 12:11 +1100
            Re: Where to learn current best Python packaging practices (was: Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a) Rustom Mody <rustompmody@gmail.com> - 2015-01-08 17:39 -0800
            Re: Where to learn current best Python packaging practices (was: Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a) Rick Johnson <rantingrickjohnson@gmail.com> - 2015-01-08 17:42 -0800
              Re: Where to learn current best Python packaging practices Ben Finney <ben+python@benfinney.id.au> - 2015-01-09 13:37 +1100
      PyPI files should not change their payload (was: Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a) Ben Finney <ben+python@benfinney.id.au> - 2015-01-09 10:55 +1100
        Re: PyPI files should not change their payload (was: Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a) Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2015-01-09 11:38 +1100
      Using a ChangeLog as a canonical source of package metadata (was: Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a) Ben Finney <ben+python@benfinney.id.au> - 2015-01-09 11:06 +1100
        Re: Using a ChangeLog as a canonical source of package metadata (was: Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a) Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2015-01-12 05:17 +1100
          Re: Using a ChangeLog as a canonical source of package metadata Ben Finney <ben+python@benfinney.id.au> - 2015-01-12 07:21 +1100
            Re: Using a ChangeLog as a canonical source of package metadata wxjmfauth@gmail.com - 2015-01-11 12:37 -0800
              Re: Using a ChangeLog as a canonical source of package metadata Steven D'Aprano <steve@pearwood.info> - 2015-01-12 05:44 +0000
                Re: Using a ChangeLog as a canonical source of package metadata wxjmfauth@gmail.com - 2015-01-12 05:24 -0800
                Re: Using a ChangeLog as a canonical source of package metadata Steven D'Aprano <steve@pearwood.info> - 2015-01-13 06:59 +0000
                Re: Using a ChangeLog as a canonical source of package metadata wxjmfauth@gmail.com - 2015-01-13 00:09 -0800
                Re: Using a ChangeLog as a canonical source of package metadata Steven D'Aprano <steve@pearwood.info> - 2015-01-13 08:22 +0000
          Re: Using a ChangeLog as a canonical source of package metadata Ben Finney <ben+python@benfinney.id.au> - 2015-01-14 21:59 +1100
      Re: Using a ChangeLog as a canonical source of package metadata (was: Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a) Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2015-01-09 11:16 +1100
  Re: Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a Christian Gollwitzer <auriocus@gmx.de> - 2015-01-08 08:27 +0100
    Re: Announce: PyPrimes 0.2.1a Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2015-01-08 22:20 +1100

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