Re: [Matplotlib-users] namespace packages

[Jeff W. <js...@fa...>]

John Hunter wrote:
> On Jan 7, 2008 2:15 PM, Jeff Whitaker <js...@fa...> wrote:
>
>   
>> I think namespace packages were being used before, but were removed.  I
>> don't remember why.
>>     
>
> We removed the namespace packages support because we were using it
> improperly.  To do it correctly would require moving all of the
> functionality out of matplotlib/__init__.py.  Since there is currently
> a fair amount of functionality there, adding namespace support would
> require moving it and breaking the current API. In addition, there are
> some ongoing issues with performance and namespace packages.   Because
> of this, we had some ambivalence about namespace packages and decided
> to remove the broken support until we could add proper support, if we
> decide to go that route.  A good time to do that, if indeed we want
> to, would be when we release Michael's transforms branch, so we can
> break as much as possible at once.
>
> JDH
>   

John:  OK, then I can think of two options for basemap in the interim:

1) remove setuptools support, since basemap cannot be installed as an 
egg without namespace packages.  This means that python2.3 support would 
have to be dropped. 

2) move the toolkits to basemap_toolkits, as Philip Eby suggested, and 
make matplotlib_toolkits a namespace package.  Unfortunately, this may 
break lots of existing code.

-Jeff

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