(offtopic) RE: [Python-Dev] Python 2.0 license and GPL

[Michael Hudson]

Thomas Wouters <thomas@xs4all.net> writes:

> On Fri, Dec 15, 2000 at 04:03:04AM -0800, Neil Schemenauer wrote:
> > On Fri, Dec 15, 2000 at 11:17:08AM -0500, Barry A. Warsaw wrote:
> > > I'm not sure I agree with that view either, but mostly because there
> > > is a non-GPL replacement for parts of the readline API:
> > > 
> > >     http://www.cstr.ed.ac.uk/downloads/editline.html
> > 
> > It doesn't work with the current readline module.  It is much
> > smaller than readline and works just as well in my experience.
> > Would there be any interest in including a copy with the standard
> > distribution?  The license is quite nice (X11 type).
> 
> Definately +1 from here. Readline reminds me of the cold war, for
> some reason. (Actually, multiple reasons ;) I don't have time to do
> it myself, unfortunately, or I would. (Looking at editline has been
> on my TODO list for a while... :P)

It wouldn't be particularly hard to rewrite editline in Python (we
have termios & the terminal handling functions in curses - and even
ioctl if we get really keen).

I've been hacking on my own Python line reader on and off for a while;
it's still pretty buggy, but if you're feeling brave you could look at:

http://www-jcsu.jesus.cam.ac.uk/~mwh21/hacks/pyrl-0.0.0.tar.gz

To try it out, unpack it, cd into the ./pyrl directory and try:

>>> import foo # sorry
>>> foo.test_loop()

It sort of imitates the Python command prompt, except that it doesn't
actually execute the code you type.

You need a recent _cursesmodule.c for it to work.

Cheers,
M.

-- 
41. Some programming languages manage to absorb change, but 
    withstand progress.
  -- Alan Perlis, http://www.cs.yale.edu/homes/perlis-alan/quotes.html