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Can packages be used forever?


Many programming languages have numerous packages available for development purposes in addition to their existing libraries. For example, the R programming language hosts packages on CRAN, similarly the Python programming language hosts packages on PyPI.

My question is simply that I wonder how long these packages will remain available, if they will ever lose functionality or die off and whether they could potentially be stored offline?


Solution

  • Packages on PyPi can indeed be used forever, but there is some nuance that you need to understand.

    A package maintainer can add new functionality, change existing functionality or even remove the package completely: the maintainer has total control.

    But because we are talking about Python software packages, once you have downloaded a package version (through a package manager such as pip or manually) you have the source in your possession. Note that the software license that applies to a package can legally limit what you are allowed to do with it, so this does not imply ownership of the code.

    It is possible to create a mirror repository of the Python Package Index (PyPi), or you can store the packages (and the particular version) you require on storage you control.