Class Distribution

Lib/importlib/metadata/__init__.py:399–739

An abstract Python distribution package. Custom providers may derive from this class and define the abstract methods to provide a concrete implementation for their environment. Some providers may opt to override the default implementation of some properties to bypass the fi

class Distribution(metaclass=abc.ABCMeta):
    """
    An abstract Python distribution package.

    Custom providers may derive from this class and define
    the abstract methods to provide a concrete implementation
    for their environment. Some providers may opt to override
    the default implementation of some properties to bypass
    the file-reading mechanism.
    """

    @abc.abstractmethod
    def read_text(self, filename) -> str | None:
        """Attempt to load metadata file given by the name.

        Python distribution metadata is organized by blobs of text
        typically represented as "files" in the metadata directory
        (e.g. package-1.0.dist-info). These files include things
        like:

        - METADATA: The distribution metadata including fields
          like Name and Version and Description.
        - entry_points.txt: A series of entry points as defined in
          `the entry points spec <https://packaging.python.org/en/latest/specifications/entry-points/#file-format>`_.
        - RECORD: A record of files according to
          `this recording spec <https://packaging.python.org/en/latest/specifications/recording-installed-packages/#the-record-file>`_.

        A package may provide any set of files, including those
        not listed here or none at all.

        :param filename: The name of the file in the distribution info.
        :return: The text if found, otherwise None.
        """

    @abc.abstractmethod
    def locate_file(self, path: str | os.PathLike[str]) -> SimplePath:
        """
        Given a path to a file in this distribution, return a SimplePath
        to it.

        This method is used by callers of ``Distribution.files()`` to
        locate files within the distribution. If it&#x27;s possible for a
        Distribution to represent files in the distribution as
        ``SimplePath`` objects, it should implement this method
        to resolve such objects.

        Some Distribution providers may elect not to resolve SimplePath
        objects within the distribution by raising a
        NotImplementedError, but consumers of such a Distribution would
        be unable to invoke ``Distribution.files()``.
        """

    @classmethod
    def from_name(cls, name: str) -> Distribution:
        """Return the Distribution for the given package name.

        :param name: The name of the distribution package to search for.
        :return: The Distribution instance (or subclass thereof) for the named