[Request] : Prevent git to be used for release packages

[xavArtley]

Hi I noticed with param and panel version installed from pypi, a git cmd is used on import to retrieve the package version.

Most of the time its harmeless, but I work on a software where each time I import panel some dos cmd related to git popup.

Here is a screen shot where the .version is in the panel release

and a screen shot showing the 2 git cmd open at panel import. I suppose one for param and one for panel.

the .version contain :
{"git_describe": "v0.5.1-0-g002dd94", "version_string": "0.5.1"}

I was wondering if it was possible to first check for the .version file and if not found use the git cmd?

Thx.

[ceball]

(edit: have turned into a summary of issues with running git on import)

[...] the code was meant to be robust against failure to launch git, and clearly it isn't yet, which we should fix rather than work around...

I think packages* should not even be trying to launch git when imported. If I install a python package (e.g. via conda or pip) and I import it, and as a side effect, "git" is run...that's very surprising to me. Not only is that surprising, though, it can cause various actual problems, e.g.

• this issue (annoyance/unwanted window opening)
• security prompts and/or virus checker complaints
• problems/hurdles getting packages approved for "production environments"
• crashes in environments we have never tested (e.g. async, Prevent autover from failing when used alongside async frameworks #59)
• confusion/wrong version info in certain scenarios (e.g. just because there is an unrelated git repo involved somewhere, autover (or package using autover) reports incorrect version when installed inside a git repository #54).

The main discussion of this topic is in #54, I think.

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(* "package" is an overloaded term - I mean things installed by conda, pip, etc. I'm not concerned that git is run when I have a git checkout of param and import that.)