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No more automagic Python bytecompilation

Summary

Owner

Name: Miro Hrončok
Email: mhroncok@redhat.com
Release notes owner:

Current status

Targeted release: Fedora 29
Last updated: 2018-02-01
Tracker bug: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>

Detailed Description

Status quo

As for Fedora 28, all *.py files outside of the /usr/lib(64)?/pythonX.Y/ directories are bytecompiled by %{__python} (/usr/bin/python). This is overly magical and assumes several things (not always right):

all files named *.py are Python modules that need to be bytecompiled
when a file is not in /usr/lib(64)?/pythonX.Y/ it is intended for the /usr/bin/python interpreter
- That is currently Python 2, but may be removed or changed to Python 3 at any point in the future.
- This is only the default behavior, it can be changed by redefining %__python to:
  - python3: that currently happens in various packages and is documented in the guidelines as a way to do it
  - python2: nobody does that, because the magic "just works" for this use case - relying on the fact that /usr/bin/python is currently python2
    - that assumption is forbidden by the Python packaging guidelines, yet here it is heavily used

See Packaging:Python Appendix for more information (this links to a specific revision so the link makes sense once this change is implemented and the guidelines are changed).

TODO put the example specfile that fails here

How we are changing it

TODO

Benefit to Fedora

Scope

Proposal owners:

Other developers: N/A (not a System Wide Change)

Release engineering: #Releng issue number (a check of an impact with Release Engineering is needed)
- List of deliverables: N/A (not a System Wide Change)

Policies and guidelines: N/A (not a System Wide Change)

Trademark approval: N/A (not needed for this Change)