Yes, python packaging is a mess.
And agreed, there are two separate use cases: development and using the software.
But, are distros creating too much work for themselves by trying to package every itty-bitty python library (and for that matter, every npm library)? Are distros doing anything more than scanning CVE databases with the library versions, or are they _actually_ auditing the versions they choose? (Not that there's much choice, since python also has a shitty story when it comes to backwards compatibility; if you're going with 3.10, there's possibly only one version of a given library that will work.)
Java has a commonly used "fat jar" approach which rolls up all dependencies into a single file. It's excellent. In the python world, this doesn't exist, because virtualenvs aren't portable. If that can be fixed (perhaps a specific section in requirements.txt that captures anything that needs to compile C for the platform) then a distributable virtualenv would become possible. Distros would then scan the application for vulnerabilities (via requirement.txt's manifest), build the distributable-virtualenv, and ship _that_. Python library maintainers don't have to do anything different (except, of course, use the standard way to declare dependencies).
And agreed, there are two separate use cases: development and using the software.
But, are distros creating too much work for themselves by trying to package every itty-bitty python library (and for that matter, every npm library)? Are distros doing anything more than scanning CVE databases with the library versions, or are they _actually_ auditing the versions they choose? (Not that there's much choice, since python also has a shitty story when it comes to backwards compatibility; if you're going with 3.10, there's possibly only one version of a given library that will work.)
Java has a commonly used "fat jar" approach which rolls up all dependencies into a single file. It's excellent. In the python world, this doesn't exist, because virtualenvs aren't portable. If that can be fixed (perhaps a specific section in requirements.txt that captures anything that needs to compile C for the platform) then a distributable virtualenv would become possible. Distros would then scan the application for vulnerabilities (via requirement.txt's manifest), build the distributable-virtualenv, and ship _that_. Python library maintainers don't have to do anything different (except, of course, use the standard way to declare dependencies).