[Mageia-dev] python-virtualenv: package default settings question

Tue Feb 21 16:58:13 CET 2012

Received from Marja van Waes on Tue, Feb 21, 2012 at 04:42:20AM EST:
+> On 20/02/12 20:15, Lev Givon wrote:
+> >See https://bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=3358#c3
+> >Anyone care to comment?
+> >
+> >					L.G.
+> To make replying easier, here is the question from the above link:
+> 
+> > By default, virtualenv creates virtual environments using setuptools rather
+> > than distribute. This causes virtualenv to complain if  PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE
+> > is set (which is the default in Mageia):
+> 
+> > The PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE environment variable is not compatible with
+> > setuptools. Either use --distribute or unset PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE.
+> 
+> > Do we effectively want to require users to explicitly set the variable in order
+> > to use virtualenv with its default settings? (If we do, I can add an
+> > installation message to the package to warn users to unset the variable
+> > themselves.)
+> 
+> 
+> To me current behaviour as described above sounds strange, even
+> irritating, but I'm not a packager and I don't even use the package,
+> so I don't know enough.
+> 
+> @ Lev
+> I understand in Mandriva virtualenv the default settings can be used
+> without having to unset a variable, and that that doesn't cause
+> other problems.  Is that correct?
+
+The Mandriva package uses the same approach as the one in Mageia,
+i.e., PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE is unset within
+/usr/bin/virtualenv so that it will run successfully without requiring
+that the user explicitly unset the variable or run the script with a
+specific flag.
+
+Given that the variable is only set when virtualenv is run to create a
+virtual environment and does not affect the variable's setting in a
+user's session, I'm inclined to leave the package as-is.
+
+> If so, and if no one cares to reply to this mail or in the bug
+> report, I think you can just go ahead and change the default
+> environment variable from PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE to whatever
+> Mandriva's default is. If that causes any new problems, we'll find
+> out soon enough when the package is in cauldron ;)
+> 
+> Regards,
+> Marja
+
+						L.G.
+