Add structured version info for modules wrapping external libraries
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Description
Feature or enhancement
Several modules wrap an external library, but expose its version inconsistently: only a string, only a plain tuple, only the runtime or only the build-time version, or under a private name. gh-117404 established a pattern for zlib, bz2, lzma and compression.zstd: a string and a named tuple for the version the module was built against (XXX_VERSION, XXX_VERSION_INFO), and the same pair for the library actually loaded (xxx_version, xxx_version_info).
Other modules (existing names, with their types):
sqlite3— runtime:sqlite_version(str),sqlite_version_info(plain tuple, computed in Python from the string). No build-time version.pyexpat— runtime:EXPAT_VERSION(str, e.g.'expat_2.8.4'),version_info(plain tuple). No build-time version.decimal— runtime:__libmpdec_version__(str). No tuple, no build-time version. Matters more now that only the system libmpdec is used.readline— build-time:_READLINE_VERSION(int,0x0803). Runtime:_READLINE_RUNTIME_VERSION(int),_READLINE_LIBRARY_VERSION(str). All private;backend(str) tells readline from libedit.dbm.gnu— build-time: private_GDBM_VERSION(plain tuple). No runtime version (gdbm_versionis not exposed).dbm.ndbm— onlylibrary(str, the implementation name). No version.ctypes— nothing about libffi.uuid— nothing about libuuid.ssl— runtime:OPENSSL_VERSION(str),OPENSSL_VERSION_INFO(plain 5-tuple),OPENSSL_VERSION_NUMBER(int). Build-time: only private_OPENSSL_API_VERSION(plain 5-tuple). The existing names conflict with the scheme above (uppercase names for the runtime version).curses— runtime:ncurses_version(named tuple). No string, no build-time version. It is fine to keep only the named tuple.tkinter— build-time:_tkinter.TCL_VERSION,TK_VERSION(str, onlymajor.minor, e.g.'8.6'), andtkinter.TclVersion,TkVersion(float,8.6, derived from them). The runtime version cannot be obtained at import time without creating a Tcl interpreter; it is available asTcl().eval('info patchlevel').
Not all items need to be changed, and not all libraries provide both the compile-time and the runtime version. Sub-issues are opened for those that do.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by reading gh-117404 and comparing its zlib, bz2, lzma, and compression.zstd version API pattern with the module inventory in this issue. Review the relevant sub-issues and determine which modules can expose consistent build-time and runtime version information; done means each selected module has an agreed public interface without breaking existing names.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- python
- Domain
- backend
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Activity status
- Active
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 38/100