On Fri, 2021-03-19 at 15:36 +0100, Matthias Klose wrote: > with: apt install python3-pyodbc > > it doesn't break before and after the upgrade. > > Mixing dpkg and pip installed packages is error-prone. You should avoid that.
I'm not using python dpkg packages at all (unless you mean python3/python3- pip?), purely pip. If you are suggesting using python3-X instead of pip X, as with pyodbc, this is not feasible in general because not everything that is on pip is available on dpkg, some pip usage is inevitable, and perhaps even preferred. For example (among many others) julia or blpapi (Bloomberg's API library) are only accessible this way. Moreover, regular users naturally cannot use apt and hence install everything through pip in their .local repository. Upgrading python therefore breaks essentially everyone. I understand the argument that having a python alternative could break python3- X, but having the possibility of picking a different python alternative is precisely what solves the breakage of pip packages, in the absence of python3-X, and with minimal interference for everyone involved. It's just trading an actual breakage I have for a potential one that I don't have, isn't it?
