gh-72327: Suggest using system terminal for pip install in PyREPL #136328
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Users new to Python packaging often try to use pip from the REPL only to be met with a confusing SyntaxError. If this happens, guide the user to use a system terminal instead to invoke pip. Co-authored-by: Tom Viner <tom@viner.tv> Co-authored-by: Brian Schubert <brianm.schubert@gmail.com>
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The new REPL has a similar special case for when cpython/Lib/_pyrepl/console.py Lines 210 to 217 in 1953713 Maybe this could be done in a similar way? Something like this might work: :...skipping...
diff --git a/Lib/_pyrepl/console.py b/Lib/_pyrepl/console.py
index 8956fb1242e..833e79ef3c2 100644
--- a/Lib/_pyrepl/console.py
+++ b/Lib/_pyrepl/console.py
@@ -195,7 +195,15 @@ def runsource(self, source, filename="<input>", symbol="single"):
ast.PyCF_ONLY_AST,
incomplete_input=False,
)
- except (SyntaxError, OverflowError, ValueError):
+ except SyntaxError as e:
+ if "pip install" in source: # maybe use a more general regex?
+ e.add_note(
+ "Did you mean to run the 'pip' command?."
+ " If so, <insert tip message here>"
+ )
+ self.showsyntaxerror(filename, source=source)
+ return False
+ except (OverflowError, ValueError):
self.showsyntaxerror(filename, source=source)
return False
if tree.body: |
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I teach Python at the university level, and this is a pretty common issue, so I think this would be a good addition! Maybe checking if I feel like this might want to be a more specific check, like matching the source string against something like |
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Ah crap, I forgot that force-pushing is frown upon here. Sorry about that! @brianschubert thanks for the suggestion. Implementing this via the new REPL is much cleaner! I've updated my patch to use your approach. |
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It may be nice to include "or pip3" depending on which version they want to use. |
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I really don't want to get into the weeds of how to invoke pip (because the answer is "it depends" and I don't want to make this more complicated). The point of saying "try the 'pip' command" is that it can't simply be copied. The onus is on the user to invoke pip appropriately for their system. In most cases, I expect them to re-copy and paste what they just pasted/typed in. |
Co-authored-by: Hugo van Kemenade <1324225+hugovk@users.noreply.github.com>
| except SyntaxError as e: | ||
| # If it looks like pip install was entered (a common beginner | ||
| # mistake), provide a hint to use the system command prompt. | ||
| if re.match(r"^\s*(py(thon3?)? -m pip|pip3?) install.*", source): |
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| if re.match(r"^\s*(py(thon3?)? -m pip|pip3?) install.*", source): | |
| if re.match(r"^\s*(pip3?|py(thon3?)? -m pip) install.*", source): |
Pretty sure that keeps the overall regex meaning the same, while making the optional suffix handling style more internally consistent.
Edit: changed the suggestion to flip the order of the branches, since my first suggestion of removing the pattern alternation entirely was wrong (as per the comments below)
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I think this would actually change the meaning of the regex, and that the updated version won't match a regular pip install foo, only ones that use the python3 -m pip form. The | in the original regex isn't saying "pip or pip3" for that one little part, but rather that the whole parenthesized bit there must match "py(thon3?)? -m pip or pip3?".
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Ah, you're right, I always forget how broad the scope of | is when mentally parsing regexes.
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Reworked the suggestion to instead be to put the simpler branch first. I don't think that's a merge blocker though.
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Do we also maybe want to check for variants that start try to use |
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I've never encountered someone doing that. Have your students done that before? @adqm |
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I'm not sure how common it is anymore, but I feel like it used to be fairly normal to suggest using Separately, I do agree that @ncoghlan's rephrasing of the regex is an improvement. |
Users new to Python packaging often try to use pip from the REPL only to be met with a confusing
SyntaxError. If this happens, guide the user to use a system terminal instead to invoke pip. The pip project still receives the occasional issue from users lamenting that "pip is not working!" (pypa/pip#13409)This is an updated version of #8536.
cc @ncoghlan