README file installed into site-packages conflicts with package named "readme"

[scls19fr]

BPO	24633
Nosy	@brettcannon, @ronaldoussoren, @rbtcollins, @ned-deily, @dstufft, @scls19fr
Files	issue24633.patch: Rename to README.txt

^{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 = None
closed_at = <Date 2015-08-23.23:50:03.454>
created_at = <Date 2015-07-14.08:07:26.099>
labels = ['OS-mac']
title = 'README file installed into site-packages conflicts with package named "readme"'
updated_at = <Date 2015-10-23.20:24:22.334>
user = 'https://github.com/scls19fr'

bugs.python.org fields:

activity = <Date 2015-10-23.20:24:22.334>
actor = 'python-dev'
assignee = 'none'
closed = True
closed_date = <Date 2015-08-23.23:50:03.454>
closer = 'rbcollins'
components = ['macOS']
creation = <Date 2015-07-14.08:07:26.099>
creator = 'scls'
dependencies = []
files = ['39924']
hgrepos = []
issue_num = 24633
keywords = ['patch']
message_count = 10.0
messages = ['246721', '246723', '246725', '246729', '246731', '246732', '246733', '249029', '249031', '253392']
nosy_count = 7.0
nosy_names = ['brett.cannon', 'ronaldoussoren', 'rbcollins', 'ned.deily', 'python-dev', 'dstufft', 'scls']
pr_nums = []
priority = 'normal'
resolution = 'fixed'
stage = 'resolved'
status = 'closed'
superseder = None
type = None
url = 'https://bugs.python.org/issue24633'
versions = ['Python 3.6']

[scls19fr]

Hello,

the package name "readme" conflicts with Python installed site-packages/README file on case-insensitive filesystems (Mac OS X).

pypa/readme_renderer#26
mgedmin/restview#30
https://groups.google.com/a/continuum.io/forum/#!topic/anaconda/AGHXzB1sN0I

I wonder if README file should be be renamed README.rst or README.txt or README.md to avoid this issue or if readme package should be renamed.

Kind regards

[ned-deily]

I agree with IIan's comments you cited in https://groups.google.com/a/continuum.io/forum/#!topic/anaconda/AGHXzB1sN0I. Python has been installing the README file in site-packages for a very long time and there have been case-insensitive file systems for a very long time, including, but not limited to, the default case-insensitive variant of HFS on OS X. So this seems to be an issue for the readme package, not for Python. Even if the Python-installed README file were installed under a different name in future release, it wouldn't solve the problem for trying to install the readme package under current and past Python releases. CC-ing Donald, as the author of readme, for his comments.

[rbtcollins]

So, README is a valid package name. readme conflicting with README on case insensitive filesystems is a special case, but the general problem remains.

We've no particular reason to use README rather than e.g. README.txt, which would open with a much more reasonable program on Windows, and would also remove this problem.

[ronaldoussoren]

I agree with Robert: renaming the file to README.txt would be a good idea regardless to enable easily opening the file with a GUI editor and as a bonus removes any change of conflict with a package name.

The patch looks good to me.

[ned-deily]

I'm +0 on the name change but, again, it wouldn't solve the conflict problem for potential users of the readme package until 3.6.

[ned-deily]

(And such a change would only be appropriate in a feature release, as it would complicate things for existing release installers and downstream distributions, etc.)

[brettcannon]

+1 on the file renaming. There really shouldn't be any files we put into site-packages that don't have a dot or some other symbol that we would never support as a file name for importing.

[python-dev]

New changeset d90a65014c42 by Robert Collins in branch 'default':
Issue bpo-24633: site-packages/README -> README.txt.
https://hg.python.org/cpython/rev/d90a65014c42

[rbtcollins]

Applied to 3.6 only (since I don't want to disrupt the 3.5 release train, and think that making packagers adjust on a point release would be mean).

[python-dev]

New changeset 742aefb5ca46 by Steve Dower in branch 'default':
Issue bpo-24633: Removes automatic rename of site-packages/README since README.txt is now committed.
https://hg.python.org/cpython/rev/742aefb5ca46