[mod_python] supporting modular mod_python extensions vs. "folding" mod_psp

Ok, I'll bite.

> I see the benefits as well. My concern is that the automatic inclusion
> of mod_psp will have two effects. First, it will become a "good enough"
> standard and users will not bother to look at other possibilities, which
> are quite good and creative, and certainly more mature than mod_psp at
> this point. I put up a web page, for example:

I think you make the opposite point right here.  If PSP is "good
enough," then why should they investigate other options?  I'm not going
to say anything bad about the other systems, I like some of them, others
less: they all have their advantages and their different approaches,
such diversity is imho a good thing.  However, the goal of mod_python,
as I understand it, is to be the best toolkit for developing web
applications with Python.  It is a pretty common request to embed python
code within HTML, if we can find a solution that is "good enough," I
think that's an admirable achievement.

PSP's integration with mod_python does not preclude the usage of spyce
or any of these other systems.  In fact, I happen to use cheetah for
some of my sites, I think its a superb product.  It just provides users
with a simple, fast system that works "out of the box."  That's never a
bad thing.

> 
> My second concern regarding the inclusion of mod_psp is that it will end
> up being a much larger codebase than mod_python, and will influence the
> focus of the project from being a platform (i.e. infrastructure) for
> Python-based Apache integration to being a project like Spyce and others
> that are focussed on the language issues or application frameworks.
> These two goals can be kept separate, but then why merge the two
> projects?
> 
> Good boundaries make for good design, because short-cuts are not
> possible. You, I and all other developers (and the users of our systems)
> that use the mod_python infrastructure to operate within Apache have an
> interest in ensuring that mod_python remains open and focussed on that
> small, but most important goal: infrastructure. As a developer that uses
> mod_python, I think that the most important next steps are performance
> and configuration issues, not a handler for a new Python-web language.
> Are there any technical merits for merging mod_psp with mod_python?
> 

Good boundaries make for good design.  

PSP is a python handler, distributed with mod_python.  There is a clear
boundary between the two pieces of code.  I can see your political
reasoning for not including PSP, but what is your technical reason?  The
other systems will not be technically disadvantaged in anyway, and psp 
certainly doesn't muddy things up from a technical perspective.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors,

Sterling

-- 
Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from 
bad judgement. 
    - Fred Brooks