pypa/pip

Speed up build environment creation (re-usable, faster)

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#7,294 opened on Nov 4, 2019

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 (19 comments) (6 reactions) (0 assignees)Python (8,952 stars) (3,032 forks)batch import
C: PEP 517 impacthelp wantedstate: needs discussiontype: performance

Description

Currently pip always creates all build environments from scratch, requiring network access for this. This causes a significant overhead of creating isolated build environments. Can we somehow speed-up this operation?

Idea: Creating isolated build environments from cached wheels only? Do not recreate isolated build environments from scratch, but have a master copy that we just copy.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
python
Domain
build systemperformance
Issue type
performance
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
4
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
3-5 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
mostly clear
Prerequisites
pip internalsPython packagingbuild isolation concepts
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
35
Research direction
Investigate the current build environment creation mechanism in pip's source code (likely in pip/ internal/build env.py). The issue proposes using a cached master copy of the environment to avoid network access and reduce overhead. Review the 19 comments for additional suggestions and constraints. Determine if a simple copy of a pre built environment is feasible, considering platform specific and dependency differences. No existing PRs are linked, so this is an open design space.