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Procedure to request adding a module to the standard library - or initiating a vote on it

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  Procedure to request adding a module to the standard library - or initiating a vote on it Helmut Jarausch <jarausch@igpm.rwth-aachen.de> - 2012-08-07 10:13 +0000
    Re: Procedure to request adding a module to the standard library - or initiating a vote on it Peter Otten <__peter__@web.de> - 2012-08-07 13:15 +0200
      Re: Procedure to request adding a module to the standard library - or initiating a vote on it Helmut Jarausch <jarausch@skynet.be> - 2012-08-07 14:47 +0000
        Re: Procedure to request adding a module to the standard library - or initiating a vote on it Mark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk> - 2012-08-07 16:04 +0100
        Re: Procedure to request adding a module to the standard library - or initiating a vote on it Peter Otten <__peter__@web.de> - 2012-08-07 17:07 +0200
    Re: Procedure to request adding a module to the standard library - or initiating a vote on it Mark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk> - 2012-08-07 15:03 +0100
    Re: Procedure to request adding a module to the standard library - or initiating a vote on it Terry Reedy <tjreedy@udel.edu> - 2012-08-07 13:45 -0400

#26697 — Procedure to request adding a module to the standard library - or initiating a vote on it

Hi,

I'd like to request adding the module

http://pypi.python.org/pypi/regex

to Python's standard library in the (near) future or to even replace the 
current 're' module by it.

Personally I'm in need for fuzzy regular expressions and I don't see how 
to do this easily and efficiently without this module.

For a long term project I also need some "guarantee" that this 
functionality will exist in future.

So, is there a (formal) procedure for such a request or for initiating 
some sort of vote on it? 

I know there is a "Benevolent Dictator" for Python.
Should I try to contact him personally?

Many thanks for a hint,

Helmut Jarausch

RWTH Aachen University
Germany

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#26699

Helmut Jarausch wrote:

> I'd like to request adding the module
> 
> http://pypi.python.org/pypi/regex
> 
> to Python's standard library in the (near) future or to even replace the
> current 're' module by it.
> 
> Personally I'm in need for fuzzy regular expressions and I don't see how
> to do this easily and efficiently without this module.
> 
> For a long term project I also need some "guarantee" that this
> functionality will exist in future.

There has been a discussion about that particular module, and it would have 
gone into 3.3 if it were not for the low "bus count" (only the author having 
working knowledge of the code).
  
> So, is there a (formal) procedure for such a request or for initiating
> some sort of vote on it?
> 
> I know there is a "Benevolent Dictator" for Python.
> Should I try to contact him personally?

I don't think that will help. From PEP 408:

"""
As part of the same announcement, Guido explicitly accepted Matthew 
Barnett's 'regex' module [4] as a provisional addition to the standard 
library for Python 3.3 (using the 'regex' name, rather than as a drop-in 
replacement for the existing 're' module).
"""

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#26716

On Tue, 07 Aug 2012 13:15:29 +0200, Peter Otten wrote:

> I don't think that will help. From PEP 408:
> 
> """
> As part of the same announcement, Guido explicitly accepted Matthew
> Barnett's 'regex' module [4] as a provisional addition to the standard
> library for Python 3.3 (using the 'regex' name, rather than as a drop-in
> replacement for the existing 're' module).
> """

What is  a "provisional addition"? Python-3.3 (20120708) doesn't have 
such a module.

Many thanks,
Helmut.

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#26717

On 07/08/2012 15:47, Helmut Jarausch wrote:
> On Tue, 07 Aug 2012 13:15:29 +0200, Peter Otten wrote:
>
>> I don't think that will help. From PEP 408:
>>
>> """
>> As part of the same announcement, Guido explicitly accepted Matthew
>> Barnett's 'regex' module [4] as a provisional addition to the standard
>> library for Python 3.3 (using the 'regex' name, rather than as a drop-in
>> replacement for the existing 're' module).
>> """
>
> What is  a "provisional addition"? Python-3.3 (20120708) doesn't have
> such a module.
>
> Many thanks,
> Helmut.
>

This is a new concept, as an example see 
http://bugs.python.org/issue14814#msg164795 which refers to the 
implementation of PEP 3144, the ipaddress module.

-- 
Cheers.

Mark Lawrence.

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#26719

Helmut Jarausch wrote:

> On Tue, 07 Aug 2012 13:15:29 +0200, Peter Otten wrote:
> 
>> I don't think that will help. From PEP 408:
>> 
>> """
>> As part of the same announcement, Guido explicitly accepted Matthew
>> Barnett's 'regex' module [4] as a provisional addition to the standard
>> library for Python 3.3 (using the 'regex' name, rather than as a drop-in
>> replacement for the existing 're' module).
>> """
> 
> What is  a "provisional addition"? 

My understanding is that Guido agreed for it to be added under a different 
name (i. e. as regex, not re) and with no guarantees that it will remain in 
Python versions above 3.3.

> Python-3.3 (20120708) doesn't have such a module.

Indeed. Guido allowed adding the module, but some core devs remained 
skeptical and no one put in the legwork to add it. It may still be added in 
3.4 if a core developer is willing to familiarise with the codebase and 
promises to help with maintenance, but the chances seem low by now.

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#26708

On 07/08/2012 11:13, Helmut Jarausch wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'd like to request adding the module
>
> http://pypi.python.org/pypi/regex
>
> to Python's standard library in the (near) future or to even replace the
> current 're' module by it.
>
> Personally I'm in need for fuzzy regular expressions and I don't see how
> to do this easily and efficiently without this module.
>
> For a long term project I also need some "guarantee" that this
> functionality will exist in future.
>
> So, is there a (formal) procedure for such a request or for initiating
> some sort of vote on it?
>
> I know there is a "Benevolent Dictator" for Python.
> Should I try to contact him personally?
>
> Many thanks for a hint,
>
> Helmut Jarausch
>
> RWTH Aachen University
> Germany
>

My understanding is that the main stumbling block is there's no one 
committed to being the maintainer of the code.  If that commitment is 
not made, and I belive it's required to be several (10?) years, then the 
code may never get into the standard library.  I'll happily stand 
corrected if anyone knows any better.

-- 
Cheers.

Mark Lawrence.

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#26734

On 8/7/2012 6:13 AM, Helmut Jarausch wrote:

> I'd like to request adding the module
> http://pypi.python.org/pypi/regex
> to Python's standard library in the (near) future

As near as I can tell, the author is lukewarm about the prospect.

To respond the general question:

The author of a module should be warm to hot about the idea and must be 
willing to move development into the stdlib source tree and conform to 
Python's release schedule, which may be too slow for actively developed 
modules.

(If the module wraps a well-known and maintained external C library, the 
wrapper must go into the source tree. Then the docs says that the stdlib 
module wraps something we are not responsible for.)

There should be community support for the module as one of the best of 
its kind.

Someone has to write a PEP. There must be developer support to review 
the code, api, and documentation. Author must allow changes. (The new 
ipaddress module has had changes to all three, including considerable 
doc expansion. Some were to make it accessible to beginners rather than 
only ip experts, others to make it conform to current 3.x stdlib 
standards and best practices. For instance, 2.x style list returns were 
changed to 3.x style iterator returns. )

There must be commitment for the author or substitute for maintenance.

> For a long term project I also need some "guarantee" that this
> functionality will exist in future.

That is the point of the last requirement.
>
> So, is there a (formal) procedure for such a request or for initiating
> some sort of vote on it?

'voting' is fuzzy. Community support. Some support from developers. Best 
no strong opposition from a senior core developer, or at least more that 
one. Final decision is always by GvR, but he often delegates decisions 
to other developers, especially in an area of his non-expertise.

> I know there is a "Benevolent Dictator" for Python.
> Should I try to contact him personally?

No. If there is author and community support, the next step is a PEP or 
discussion on python-ideas list (which Guido reads even if he does not 
write much).

-- 
Terry Jan Reedy

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