[Python-Dev] PEP 411: Provisional packages in the Python standard library

Mon Feb 13 04:36:37 CET 2012

Antoine Pitrou writes:
 > I think the word "provisional" doesn't mean anything to many
 > (non-native English speaking) people. I would like to suggest something
 > clearer, e.g. "experimental" or "unstable" - which have the benefit of
 > *already* having a meaning in other software-related contexts.
I sympathize, but unfortunately, as Nick points out, those words have
*different* and *inappropriate* meanings, which will definately
mislead and confuse native speakers. Nor is "provisional" a difficult
concept, as I understand it. At the very least, it has an exact
translation into Japanese, which makes it about as hard to find exact
translations as I can imagine a human language could!
 > > The <X> package has been included in the standard library on a
 > > provisional basis. While major changes are not anticipated, as long as
 > > this notice remains in place, backwards incompatible changes are
 > > permitted if deemed necessary by the standard library developers. Such
 > > changes will not be made gratuitously - they will occur only if
 > > serious API flaws are uncovered that were missed prior to inclusion of
 > > the package.
 > 
 > That's too wordy. Let's stay clear and to the point:
 > 
 > "This package is unstable/experimental. Its API may change in the next
 > release."
 > 
 > (and put a link to the relevant FAQ section if necessary)
How about this?
 This is a `provisional package`__. Its API may change in the next
 release.
__ faq#provisional_package
and the linked FAQ will also link to the full PEP and a dictionary
definition.