"setuptools" and "pkg_resources" usage

[alessio-locatelli]

I want to discuss two things:

1. Expecting from pkg_resources import parse_version to be resolved may be a mistake.

Explanation:
from pkg_resources import parse_version requires setuptools, but setuptools is missing by default in Debian and Fedora Docker images.

Possible solutions:

• Catch ImportError and do not check versions.
• Document that a user must install setuptools manually on their side.
• Add setuptools to the vidgear mandatory dependencies.
• Do not depend on the parse_version function.

I can submit a PR, but I want to hear your opinion.

2. DeprecationWarning

>>> from pkg_resources import parse_version
<stdin>:1: DeprecationWarning: pkg_resources is deprecated as an API. See https://setuptools.pypa.io/en/latest/pkg_resources.html

If in my first question you will decide to keep using this function, the import should be updated.

VidGear Version

0.3.3

Python version

3.12.4

Operating System version

fedora:40 Docker image

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[abhiTronix]

@olk-m Thank you for bringing up these important points regarding the use of setuptools and pkg_resources in VidGear.

Problem

You're correct that relying on pkg_resources.parse_version can cause issues in following cases

• Minimal Docker images.
• The pkg_resources is a deprecated
• Extremely slow-to-import package
• Only exists when setuptools is installed

Solution

Instead of adding a runtime dependency on setuptools, we should just use importlib.metadata from the stdlib. This is a more modern approach and part of the standard library since Python 3.8.

• The performance benefits: Get rid of pkg_resources dependency mtkennerly/dunamai#28
• By switching to importlib.metadata, we'll automatically address this deprecation warning.

[alessio-locatelli]

@abhiTronix

Discussions are not enabled for this repository and I do not want to create too much noise by opening a new issue. I could contact you via email, but maybe this comment will be useful for someone.
Would you like to include a URL to the "vidgear in Docker" to the documentation?

There are two use cases:

• a starting point for a new Docker app
• a reproducible environment to report bugs so you can quickly reproduce them 🐛

In case you will need that, also added you as a collaborator.

[abhiTronix]

@alessio-locatelli Thanks for this great suggestion! This would indeed be valuable for developers using vidgear. I really appreciate your initiative in creating a setup and adding me as a collaborator.

Could you open a dedicated issue for this? It'll help us track and discuss the addition properly. Looking forward to working on this!