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107 points joouha | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.269s | source

I've invented a new alternative to forking / vendoring / monkey-patching packages in Python.

It's a bit like OverlayFS for Python modules - it allows you write modifications for a target module (lower) in a new module (upper), and have these combined in a new virtual module (mount).

It works by rewriting imports using AST transformations, then running both the lower and upper module's code in the new Python module.

This prevents polluting the global namespace when monkey-patching, and means if you want to make changes to a third-party package, you don't have to take on the maintenance burden of forking, you can package and distribute just your changes.

1. tracnar ◴[] No.45671941[source]
I wish a Python package manager would support patching dependencies, like e.g. Cargo allows: https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/overriding-depende...

It's much cleaner than monkey patching, and it will more likely detect if an update conflicts with your patching.

I've used it by packaging everything through nix, but that can be cumbersome.