Engineering Package Evaluator

Engineering Package Evaluator Skill

Structured evaluation framework for Python engineering packages being considered for adoption into digitalmodel or other MIT-licensed projects.

When to Use This Skill

• Evaluating a new Python package for integration
• Assessing license compatibility for a dependency
• Reviewing maintenance health of an existing dependency
• Deciding between direct dependency vs optional extra vs wrapper

Evaluation Checklist

1. License Compatibility

Package License?
  ├── MIT / BSD / Apache-2.0 → Direct dependency (safe)
  ├── LGPL-2.1 / LGPL-3.0 → Direct dependency (dynamic linking OK)
  ├── GPL-2.0 / GPL-3.0 → Optional extra ONLY (cannot bundle)
  ├── AGPL → Do not use (viral, affects SaaS)
  └── Proprietary / Unknown → Do not use without legal review

2. Maintenance Health

3. Community & Quality

4. Dependency Risk

Integration Patterns

Direct Dependency

# pyproject.toml
[project]
dependencies = ["pygef>=0.12"]

Use when: MIT/BSD/Apache/LGPL, well-maintained, stable API.

Optional Extra

[project.optional-dependencies]
geotechnical-gpl = ["groundhog>=0.12", "openpile>=1.0"]

Use when: GPL license, or large/heavy package not needed by all users.

GPL Guard Pattern

try:
    import groundhog
    HAS_GROUNDHOG = True
except ImportError:
    HAS_GROUNDHOG = False

def compute_with_groundhog(soil_profile):
    if not HAS_GROUNDHOG:
        raise ImportError(
            "groundhog required: pip install digitalmodel[geotechnical-gpl]"
        )
    return groundhog.some_function(soil_profile)

Thin Wrapper (Isolation)

# parsers/gef_reader.py — thin wrapper around pygef
"""Isolates pygef dependency. If pygef is abandoned, only this file changes."""

from pygef import read_gef

def parse_gef_file(path):
    gef = read_gef(path)
    return CPTData(
        depth_m=gef.df["depth"].values,
        qc_MPa=gef.df["qc"].values,
        fs_kPa=gef.df["fs"].values,
    )

Evaluation Report Template

package:
  name: groundhog
  version: "0.12.0"
  pypi: https://pypi.org/project/groundhog/
  repo: https://github.com/snakesonabrain/groundhog
  license: GPL-3.0

assessment:
  license_compatible: false  # GPL vs MIT host
  maintenance: green         # active development
  community: moderate        # ~200 stars, 3 contributors, JOSS paper
  test_coverage: moderate    # some tests, no coverage badge
  python_support: ">=3.8"
  api_stability: moderate    # breaking changes between 0.x versions

decision: optional_extra
strategy: |
  Add as optional dependency under [geotechnical-gpl] extra.
  Use GPL guard pattern. Core calculations independent.
  Thin adapter in _groundhog_adapter.py for cross-validation.

risks:
  - Single primary maintainer
  - GPL-3.0 prevents bundling in MIT distribution
  - 0.x version implies API not yet stable

Related Skills

• plugin-management — managing plugin and extension systems

Version History