Deprecate the formatter module

[brettcannon]

BPO	18716
Nosy	@brettcannon, @larryhastings, @ezio-melotti, @DimitrisJim
Files	deprecate_formatter.diff

^{Note: these values reflect the state of the issue at the time it was migrated and might not reflect the current state.}

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GitHub fields:

assignee = 'https://github.com/brettcannon'
closed_at = <Date 2013-12-06.15:19:05.680>
created_at = <Date 2013-08-12.19:16:08.908>
labels = ['deferred-blocker', 'type-bug', 'library']
title = 'Deprecate the formatter module'
updated_at = <Date 2017-03-15.18:22:46.622>
user = 'https://github.com/brettcannon'

bugs.python.org fields:

activity = <Date 2017-03-15.18:22:46.622>
actor = 'brett.cannon'
assignee = 'brett.cannon'
closed = True
closed_date = <Date 2013-12-06.15:19:05.680>
closer = 'brett.cannon'
components = ['Library (Lib)']
creation = <Date 2013-08-12.19:16:08.908>
creator = 'brett.cannon'
dependencies = []
files = ['31252']
hgrepos = []
issue_num = 18716
keywords = ['patch']
message_count = 11.0
messages = ['194989', '194995', '197651', '198956', '199312', '200278', '204885', '204886', '204938', '289661', '289686']
nosy_count = 7.0
nosy_names = ['brett.cannon', 'larry', 'ezio.melotti', 'Arfrever', 'tshepang', 'python-dev', 'Jim Fasarakis-Hilliard']
pr_nums = []
priority = 'deferred blocker'
resolution = 'fixed'
stage = None
status = 'closed'
superseder = None
type = 'behavior'
url = 'https://bugs.python.org/issue18716'
versions = ['Python 3.4']

[brettcannon]

Turns out the formatter module isn't really used by anyone. Pydoc uses it, but it could easily use textwrap. Searching on Github shows a usage by someone who simply re-exposes it as part of their own public API but has no actual usage themselves (https://github.com/search?q=%22import+formatter%22&ref=searchresults&type=Code and https://github.com/search?q=%22from+formatter%22&type=Code&ref=searchresults) . A Google search only turns up references in books (https://www.google.ca/search?{google:acceptedSuggestion}oq=%22import+formatter%22&{google:instantFieldTrialGroupParameter}sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=%22import+formatter%22&qscrl=1#bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=7bfd11bde90d01cb&q=%22import+formatter%22+OR+%22from+formatter%22&qscrl=1).

The attached patch deprecated formatter for removal in Python 3.6.

[larryhastings]

+1

[brettcannon]

Making a deferred blocker to make sure I get around to deprecating before b1.

[python-dev]

New changeset 04ff1cc40d62 by Brett Cannon in branch 'default':
Issue bpo-18716: Deprecate the formatter module
http://hg.python.org/cpython/rev/04ff1cc40d62

[brettcannon]

Need to add a note to PEP-4.

[brettcannon]

Documented in f1fde6ef92e2

[Arfrever]

formatter module is used by (Python-3-compatible) Portage (package manager for Gentoo):
http://git.overlays.gentoo.org/gitweb/?p=proj/portage.git;a=summary

Maybe deprecation should be reverted.

[larryhastings]

They're not on Python 3. I think we should keep the deprecation and let them roll their own when they upgrade. It's not like the module provides much functionality in the first place.

[brettcannon]

On Sun, Dec 1, 2013 at 12:36 AM, Larry Hastings <report@bugs.python.org>wrote:

Larry Hastings added the comment:

They're not on Python 3. I think we should keep the deprecation and let
them roll their own when they upgrade. It's not like the module provides
much functionality in the first place.

What Larry said. =) Plus a single user in the world is not enough to
warrant keeping a module. The code is simple enough that if they want to
keep it they can simply copy it into their own code.

[DimitrisJim]

Just bumped into this.

Is the removal for this module waiting for the end of Python 2.7 support as PEP-4 states for modules in Py2 and Py3?

The first message calls for a removal in 3.6 so, I'm either missing some additional conversations on this or this might of just have been forgotten.

[brettcannon]

Yes, the code won't be deleted until we're in a post-2.7 world.