Update whatsnew for Pep3147.

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Raymond Hettinger 2010-09-04 23:53:24 +00:00
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This article explains the new features in Python 3.2, compared to 3.1.
PEP 3147: PYC Repository Directories
=====================================
Python's scheme for caching bytecode in *.pyc* files did not work well in
environments with multiple python interpreters. If one interpreter encountered
a cached file created by another interpreter, it would recompile the source and
overwrite the cached file, thus losing the benefits of caching.
The issue of "pyc fights" has become more pronounced as it has become
common-place for Linux distributions to ship with multiple versions of Python.
These conflicts also arise with CPython alternatives such as Unladen Swallow.
To solve this problem, Python's import machinery has been extended to use
distinct filenames for each interpreter. Instead of Python3.2 and Python3.3 and
UnladenSwallow each competing for a file called "mymodule.pyc", they will now
look for "mymodule.cpython-32.pyc", "mymodule.cpython-33.pyc", and
"mymodule.unladen10.pyc". And to keep prevent all of these new files from
cluttering source directories, the *pyc* files are now collected in a
"__pycache__" directory stored under the package directory.
Aside from the filenames and target directories, the new scheme has a few
aspects that are visible to the programmer:
* Imported modules now have a :attr:`__cached__` attribute which stores the
name of the actual file that was imported::
>>> import collections
>>> collections.__cached__
'c:/py32/lib/__pycache__/collections.cpython-32.pyc'
* The tag that is unique to each interpreter is accessible from the :mod:`imp`
module::
>>> import imp
>>> imp.get_tag()
'cpython-32'
* Scripts that try to deduce source filename from the imported file now need to
be smarter. It is no longer sufficient to simply strip the "c" from a ".pyc"
filename. Instead, use the new functions in the :mod:`imp` module:
>>> imp.source_from_cache('c:/py32/lib/__pycache__/collections.cpython-32.pyc')
'c:/py32/lib/collections.py'
>>> imp.cache_from_source('c:/py32/lib/collections.py')
'c:/py32/lib/__pycache__/collections.cpython-32.pyc'
* The :mod:`py_compile` and :mod:`compileall` modules have been updated to
reflect the new naming convention and target directory.
.. seealso::
:pep:`3147` - PYC Repository Directories
PEP written by Barry Warsaw.
PEPs
====
Implemented PEPs:
* :pep:`3147`
* :pep:`3149`