setuptools-gettext is not run by python -m build

[rrthomas]

This package looks like exactly what I need, but I can't work out how to use it!

I read the issue about support, or lack of it, for pybuild, i.e. python -m build, but I couldn't work out what I was supposed to do to work around it.

I have checked out the repo, and looked at the example project.

When I run python setup.py, the build_mo stage is run; great!

When I run python -m build, the build_mo stage is not run.

So so far, my understanding is that I'll need to run python setup.py rather than python -m build, (which is a shame as the former tells me it's deprecated when I run it).

The next thing I can't work out is how the .mo files are added to a dist package. I tried running python setup.py followed by python -m build in the hope that, having built the files, they would now get packaged, but no luck!

I appreciate your effort in trying to improve the state of affairs for packaging with gettext, and I also appreciate that Python packaging is not in a great state for stuff that is standard for GNU-style packages but not for Python—I've had similar frustration with packaging manpages, where despite strenuous efforts by the author, I cannot persuade argparse-manpage to work without a setup.py either.

So in sum, what I'm after is a recipe that will let me use setuptools-gettext with pybuild, or if that's not possible, a summary of what the options are.

[rrthomas]

The best I've managed to come up with so far that seems to work is to do the following:

• Use the minimal setup.py that the example project has, renamed to setup-gettext.py and run python setup-gettext.py build before running python -m build.
• Add the generated .mo files to tools.setuptools.package-data in pyproject.yaml

The first step causes the .mo files to be built and the second causes them to be packaged.

The reason I rename setup.py is that I don't want pip to try to use it. This means of course that my .mo files will not be installed in a system locale directory, but this is what I want in my case, as the package in question is an application which I build into a single binary, so I need the .mo files to be in an application-specific location anyway.

I guess that if I did want the .mo files to be installed I could simply not rename setup.py, but I haven't tested that.

This still seems a bit hacky, though!

[jelmer]

On Sat, Dec 14, 2024 at 07:21:26AM -0800, Reuben Thomas wrote: This package looks like exactly what I need, but I can't work out how to use it! I read the [issue](#13) about support, or lack of it, for pybuild, i.e. `python -m build`, but I couldn't work out what I was supposed to do to work around it. I have checked out the repo, and looked at the example project. When I run `python setup.py`, the `build_mo` stage is run; great! When I run `python -m build`, the `build_mo` stage is not run.

What about "pip3 install ." ? That seems to run build_mo for me. I think that if "python -m build" doesn't work, that's simply a bug rather than a documentation issue. Jelmer

[rrthomas]

Thanks @jelmer, I have retitled the issue.

[jelmer]

I'm a bit puzzled how this is meant to work though - we register hooks with setuptools so this should work for all ways in which setuptools gets invoked.

There are other setuptools extensions that do work so I'll have a look at those and see if they do anything special. For example, setuptools_rust.

[rrthomas]

@jelmer, good point! I also use argparse-manpage, and it seems to work there.

[jelmer]

So it looks like argparse-manpage actually modifies the standard build_py command, which is a bit ugly. setuptools-rust seems to be doing something different.

[nijel]

This seems lacking interface in setuptools, see pypa/build#729 (it also links one approach to address this).

PS: See also pypa/setuptools#2591.

[jelmer]

Ah, thanks for the links.