It's interesting to compare the Python situation to that of Perl.
With Perl, there's a dozen solutions on CPAN for every problem, and you can pick and choose to find the best one. In Python, there's usually one that's had the blessing from above, and like-it-or-lump-it, that's the one everyone's using.
But the end result is, with Perl, in the long run, even though it's more work, the community ends up eventually filtering through the choices and homes in on the nearst-optimal solution. With Python, the higher-ups make the decision and you get what you get.
What's striking is that even with all its faults, Perl still can often win. Python fans look down at the playing field and they say, "How can this be? How is Perl still scoring goals? Python's got more equipment, a more detailed playbook, fancier training facilities, bigger crowds of fans, even snazzier jerseys. Perl's team is scruffy, scarred, and unkempt; they train on old equipment, and half the time they don't even seem to be taking the game seriously. Yet they still manage to score!"
As an aside: I like how even though Zed said he's done with the over-the-top persona, the real Zed is still showing through like always. :)
With Perl, there's a dozen solutions on CPAN for every problem, and you can pick and choose to find the best one. In Python, there's usually one that's had the blessing from above, and like-it-or-lump-it, that's the one everyone's using.
I think you have a misconception about Python.
The equivalent to CPAN in the Python world is not the std library but PyPI (easy_install).
Zed's whining is inappropiate, he should just get to work. The current recommended practice to get something into the stdlib is:
1. Build it as an external package.
2. If it's good people will use it, it becomes popular, bugs get fixed.
3. Eventually it enters the stdlib (potentially obsoleting whatever package previously did the task)
Yes, the stdlib has accumulated a lot of cruft over the years due to the higher ups not adhering to this procedure. That's only more reason to tighten the criteria and accept new stuff only when it has proven itself in the wild - and not because a particular name is printed on it (be it Zed or someone else's).
Do you expect that the canonical Perl 6 implementation of the standard library (I guess this is whatever will come with Rakudo?) will suffer from this follow-up problem about the same as Perl 5, or less-so?
With Perl, there's a dozen solutions on CPAN for every problem, and you can pick and choose to find the best one. In Python, there's usually one that's had the blessing from above, and like-it-or-lump-it, that's the one everyone's using.
But the end result is, with Perl, in the long run, even though it's more work, the community ends up eventually filtering through the choices and homes in on the nearst-optimal solution. With Python, the higher-ups make the decision and you get what you get.
What's striking is that even with all its faults, Perl still can often win. Python fans look down at the playing field and they say, "How can this be? How is Perl still scoring goals? Python's got more equipment, a more detailed playbook, fancier training facilities, bigger crowds of fans, even snazzier jerseys. Perl's team is scruffy, scarred, and unkempt; they train on old equipment, and half the time they don't even seem to be taking the game seriously. Yet they still manage to score!"
As an aside: I like how even though Zed said he's done with the over-the-top persona, the real Zed is still showing through like always. :)