Dec 15, 2025, 11:52 PMToday I got my periodic reminder of how much I fucking despise Python, and every so-called tool that has chosen to depend upon Python. Fuck this whole "ecosystem". I mean really get right up in there and fuck it. mesa-25.3.1# meson setup build ... Program
https://jwz.org/b/yk0h
Dec 15, 2025, 11:56 PM@jwz ah finally, a fellow python hater 💚
Dec 16, 2025, 12:01 AM
@jwz finally someone else who sees how shitty is this snake.
No benefits of interpreter but all the hassle of them.
Dec 16, 2025, 1:09 AM@jwz Only 2 previouslys? Wait till you’ve tried a few more of the “addresses python dependency problems” tools du jour. https://docs.astral.sh/uv/ has risen to the top of my list of candidates after having registered many accolades that it does what so many have failed at. Luckily I have not had to cross that bridge for nearly a year
@jwz Just a guess here, but I'd assume /usr/bin/python3 is a version of Python provided by Apple as part of the base operating system, and MacPorts has its own version.
The Python library you installed is likely visible to the MacPorts Python but not the OS install of Python. You might just need to adjust $PATH to get Mesa building.
@jamesh @jwz the underlying problem with the Python ecosystem though is that you *need* virtualenv because the chance that any two non-trivial programs have overlapping and mutually exclusive dependency trees approaches 1 very quickly, but often the language management tools will know nothing and do nothing to prevent breaking installed software.
@raven667 @jwz I agree that can be a problem in some cases, but it probably isn't the underlying problem here.
Python 3.9 reached the end of its upstream support this year, so I wouldn't be surprised if current versions of some software MacPorts wants to package requires something newer. So they've got a choice between distributing a newer Python, or packaging old versions of the software that depends on it.
Dec 16, 2025, 6:42 AM
@jwz Python where system packages can be overwritten by pip and where system python executable is useless most of the time and new virtual must be created over amd over for installing dependencies. PHP developers must know something that Python's don't. (and lets not forget 2.7 vs 3 fighting on your system)
Dec 16, 2025, 8:11 AM@ewerybody @dusoft Oh PHP loves their breaking changes too for sure, but at least they only do it every few years and nobody tries to tell you to install a separate copy of PHP for each program you want to run.