Re: python-mode patch

[Slawomir Nowaczyk]

On Thu, 10 Aug 2006 16:19:58 -0400
Richard Stallman <address@hidden> wrote:

#>     You don't need to add your name here, but if the patch is accepted you'll
#>     need a ChangLog entry.
#> 
#> Looking at Slawomir's first message, it certainly sounds like an
#> improvement; but I do not know Python, so if there is some drawback, I
#> would not know.
#> 
#> Is there anyone here who knows Python and can advise me on whether to
#> install this patch?

Apparently not :(

Anyway, it seems that essentially *nobody* is using python-mode from
CVS Emacs. There are two reasons, I imagine. First, it isn't all that
usable ATM -- there is quite a number of annoying quirks and things
that do not work as well as they should. Most of them seem to be minor
and not too difficult to fix, though, as the code is pretty clean.

The other reason, probably even important, is that there is another
python-mode, at http://sf.net/projects/python-mode

"Our" python-mode has one important advantage, however: it uses comint
for running Python interpreter, while the other one seems to have
ad-hoc code for talking to the Python. Therefore I do not think it is
a good idea to give up developing our version.

Taking it into account, I would like to become a maintainer of
python-mode. I would also like to try and fix as much as possible (due
to lack of my time it may not end up being all that much, though)
before the release. It should not cause any real problems since, as I
said, nobody appears to be using the mode currently.

And it is important to have a *working* mode for the release, if it is
to ever gain a reasonable user base.

One problem I have is about naming, as it is more than a little
confusing right now. "Our" mode is called python-mode, distributed in
file python.el, and uses commands starting with python-. The other
mode, originally developed by Tim Peters and maintained now (I think)
by Barry A. Warsaw is also called python-mode.

It would be good to have unambiguous way of talking about those modes.
Does anyone have a suggestion how to avoid confusion?

Would saying "GNU python-mode" make sense?

-- 
 Best wishes,
   Slawomir Nowaczyk
     ( address@hidden )

Never let someone who says it cannot be done interrupt the person
who is doing it.