= debhelper improvements for Python =

[[https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/foundations-p-python-dh-improvements|blueprint]]

== UDS-P session notes ==

Standardised way to do testing? setuptools  + packaging have "setup.py test"
  * it would be nice if distutils would exit 0 here...

Testing:
 * Barry proposes a tool, pyti (GSOC project), that can introspect a package and work out how to test it.
 * Barry is working with distutils SIG to get the test info into the egg-info output
 * Piotr will rewrite py3multibuild soon, now that 2.7 is the only supported version, this is the priority.
   It will live in python-defaults, target 3 (primarily) and 2.7

dh_python2 in lucid:
 * Some bugs seen in oneiric due to dh_python2.
 * Doko proposes backporting the maverick dh_python2
 * Build flags. There is a standard way of passing flags to setup.py, but this requires patching distutils / setuptools.

dh_python2 transition in oneric:
 * Some patches were rejected because lucid doesn't have dh_python2 yet.
 * Many patches accepted.
 * Many ignored so far.
 * Gtk and Gnome converted.

MIR team only accepting dh_python2.

Alternative pythons:
 * Python3 can support this relatively sanely.
 * How to state support:
 ** tox can help test across python implementations.
 * pypy still moving too fast to be included, but there are PPAs

Rebuild all python packages that are still have 2.6 extensions.
Build lsb with python3 again :)

Action items:
 * barry to look into getting distutils to exit 0
 * slangasek to file a bug about build flags against distribute, python2.7, python3.2
 * doko: dh_python2 in lucid
 * doko to rebuild python packages with 2.6 extensions
 * doko to port lsb again