Question about python code distribution...

[draghuram]

Hi,

I am sure that this question might have come up repeatedly. Companies
may not want to distribute their python code in source form. Even
though pyc files are one option, it gets inconvenient to distribute
bunch of them . If there is some way to bundle pyc files (akin to
..jar), it would be really nice. I understand that pyc files are not
hard to decompile (from my reading of previous posts) and module
startup times may be longer if they have to be read from an archive.
Neverthless, an option to distribute in the form of an archive is
attractive. Has this ever been considered for Python? If one were to
consider it, what would be pros and cons of such approach?

Any comments are appreciated.

Thanks,
Raghu.

 

[jasoncorbett]

Hi,

I am sure that this question might have come up repeatedly. Companies
may not want to distribute their python code in source form. Even
though pyc files are one option, it gets inconvenient to distribute
bunch of them . If there is some way to bundle pyc files (akin to
.jar), it would be really nice. I understand that pyc files are not
hard to decompile (from my reading of previous posts) and module
startup times may be longer if they have to be read from an archive.
Neverthless, an option to distribute in the form of an archive is
attractive. Has this ever been considered for Python? If one were to
consider it, what would be pros and cons of such approach?

Any comments are appreciated.

Thanks,
Raghu.

As of version 2.3 of python zip files are supported:
http://www.python.org/doc/2.3.5/whatsnew/node5.html

 

[Stephen Prinster]

Hi,

I am sure that this question might have come up repeatedly. Companies
may not want to distribute their python code in source form. Even
though pyc files are one option, it gets inconvenient to distribute
bunch of them . If there is some way to bundle pyc files (akin to
.jar), it would be really nice. I understand that pyc files are not
hard to decompile (from my reading of previous posts) and module
startup times may be longer if they have to be read from an archive.
Neverthless, an option to distribute in the form of an archive is
attractive. Has this ever been considered for Python? If one were to
consider it, what would be pros and cons of such approach?

Any comments are appreciated.

Thanks,
Raghu.

Looks like it's in the works:
http://peak.telecommunity.com/DevCenter/PythonEggs

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Larry Bates]

You didn't say what platform, but if it is Windows take a
look at Inno Installer. It is a complete installation
framework that allows you to package everything into a
single setup.exe file. I use a combination of py2exe and
Inno to do my apps that are to be distributed. Nothing
could be simpler.

-Larry Bates

 

[draghuram]

Hi,

I would like for all platforms, not just for windows. In any case, the
above two replies about "zipfile" support and "eggs" answer my
question. That's exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for prompt and
useful responses.

Raghu.