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If .pth files are the worst thing you can find to complain about, Python's doing pretty well. That horrific .pth file in question is better placed as the feet o

If .pth files are the worst thing you can find to complain about, Python's doing pretty well. That horrific .pth file in question is better placed as the feet of its creators than the mechanism itself.

rwmj 2y ago
The fact they considered allowing executable code in path lookups shows a certain attitude.
- oefrha 2y ago
  It shows that the language is highly dynamic and you can patch anything? The .pth mechanism allows the party controlling the Python installation (site) to run some init code before any user code, basically an rc mechanism. Nothing more, nothing radical. Maybe you’re unhappy with the dynamism, in which case your complaint is misplaced.
  - rwmj 2y ago
    In this case it prevents someone using PYTHONPATH to alter or override the order that modules are loaded. Hard to justify that.
    - talideon 2y ago
      Again, the blame for that is at the feet of those who wrote the .pth file, not the mechanism itself.
- talideon 2y ago
  I searched all my machines and could only find simple ones, all related to some legacy crud for setuptools, one of which was a way to get eggs (which nobody should be using these days) to work. They're barely a thing these days and mostly a relic from before the end of the Great Setuptools Stagnation and the site package all but discourages their use.
- talideon 2y ago
  You'll also be happy to learn that there's an issue open to deprecate them: https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/78125 https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/78125 It's been open since 2018 though. You might find it worth a read.
  - rwmj 2y ago
    Yup, subscribed to that one already!