diff --git a/lang/python/docs/Short_History.org b/lang/python/docs/Short_History.org new file mode 100644 index 00000000..fa40d6eb --- /dev/null +++ b/lang/python/docs/Short_History.org @@ -0,0 +1,56 @@ +#+TITLE: A Short History of gpg bindings for Python + +In 2002 John Goerzen released PyME; Python bindings for the GPGME module +which utilised the current release of Python of the time (Python 2.2 or +2.3) and SWIG. Shortly after creating it and ensuring it worked he +stopped supporting it, though left his work available on his Gopher +site. + +A couple of years later the project was picked up by Igor Belyi and +actively developed and maintained by him from 2004 to 2008. Igor's +whereabouts at the time of this document's creation are unknown, but the +current authors do hope he is well. We're assuming (or hoping) that life +did what life does and made continuing untenable. + +In 2014 Martin Albrecht wanted to patch a bug in the PyME code and +discovered the absence of Igor. Following a discussion on the PyME +mailing list he became the new maintainer for PyME, releasing version +0.9.0 in May of that year. He remains the maintainer of the original +PyME release in Python 2.6 and 2.7 (available via PyPI). + +In 2015 Ben McGinnes approached Martin about a Python 3 version, while +investigating how complex a task this would be the task ended up being +completed. A subsequent discussion with Werner Koch led to the decision +to fold the Python 3 port back into the original GPGME release in the +languages subdirectory for non-C bindings. Ben is the maintainer of the +Python 3 port within GPGME. + +In 2016 PyME was renamed to "gpg" and adopted by the upstream GnuPG +team. + +* The Annoyances of Git + :PROPERTIES: + :CUSTOM_ID: the-annoyances-of-git + :END: + +As anyone who has ever worked with git knows, submodules are horrible +way to deal with pretty much anything. In the interests of avoiding +migraines, that is being skipped with addition of PyME to GPGME. Instead +the files will be added to the subdirectory, along with a copy of the +entire git log up to that point as a separate file within the docs +directory (old-commits.log). As the log for PyME is nearly 100KB and the +log for GPGME is approximately 1MB, this would cause considerable bloat, +as well as some confusion, should the two be merged. Hence the +unfortunate, but necessary, step to simply move the files. A regular +repository version will be maintained should it be possible to implement +this better in the future. + +* The Perils of PyPI + :PROPERTIES: + :CUSTOM_ID: the-perils-of-pypi + :END: + +At the current time the Python 3 fork is not available via PyPI and the +pip installer. The recommended installation method is to follow the +instructions in lang/py3-pyme/INSTALL. This will build the necessary +SWIG portions against the installed version of GPGME.