[hungryforcodes]

npm certainly has a number of problems (at the end the article compares pip to npm) -- but after reading this article I didn't realize pip was so problematic. I also didn't realize it installed things globally.

So the solution is?

[kcartlidge]

> I also didn't realize it installed things globally

It doesn't. It's a subtle distinction but the 'blame' doesn't lie with pip. When you do a pip install it does it in the context of the python interpreter you're using.

If you use your global python you get an installation in a global context from pip. If you use a non-global python you get a non-global installation from pip. And this is what venv etc give you; a local interpreter, which means the associated pip installs in a local context (a separate one for each venv).

[wildrhythms]

I don't understand why pip doesn't do it like npm. Admittedly, I don't write Python code much, but "npm install xyz@1.2.3" simply installs to a node_modules/ folder in the current directory. Very easy to parse and nuke if I need to. I don't really understand how venv and its weird shell prompt are a better solution.

[hungryforcodes]

Yeah. I often nuke the node_modules directory and start again.

[zokier]

> So the solution is?

Always use venv.