[MODPYTHON-227] PythonOptimize and doc strings.

• Type: Improvement
• Status: Open
• Priority: Minor
• Resolution: Unresolved
• Affects Version/s: 3.3.1
• Component/s: core
• Assignee: Unassigned
• Reporter: Graham Phillip Dumpleton
• Created: 16/May/07 00:54
• Updated: 19/Jul/07 00:15

Description

When PythonOptimize directive is used and set to "On", the effect is the same as if the options '-O -O' had been supplied to the 'python' executable. Because the highest level of optimisation is enabled, as well as basic optimisations being enabled, any doc strings in modules are discarded. This will cause a problem with any Python modules which make use of doc strings in the way they work. It is suspected for example that this may cause issues with running 'matplotlib'. See:

http://www.modpython.org/pipermail/mod_python/2007-May/023641.html

for further details.

Because someone may want to enable optimisation but not have doc strings be discarded, the PythonOptimize directive should perhaps accept 'Basic' and 'Full' as options instead of just 'On'. For backward compatibility 'On' would equate to 'Full'.

Note that the documentation is also wrong as it says that PythonOptimize is only equivalent to '-O'.

Finally, it doesn't currently matter what you set as the value to PythonOptimize, it always turns the feature on, ie., even if you have:

PythonOptimize Off

The code should check for valid values.