`build --sdist` only builds on committed changes
I found it is not possible to install the .dev0 release. The "problem" is that the package is taken from version control, and local changes are discarded.
The build shows a warning:
WARNING: Repository has uncommitted changes that will not be included in the dist tarballLet's commit the changes temporarily and then build a python dev package.
I'm not happy with this "workaround". We use an even/odd numbering scheme for GNOME. To make a development/beta build for Python, the version number should be appended with .devN, .bN, etc.
Basically those 2 versioning schemes are in conflict with one another. The simple solution would be to always assign .dev0 to an unstable (odd minor version) build, and use stable numbers for even versions.
The sdist script can then do a check to see if odd numbered versions to have a .devN suffix, and fail otherwise.
I'm not sure what the implications will be for downstream projects, such as the release service and jhbuild.