On Archlinux:

$ python2.7 -c 'import platform; print(platform.linux_distribution())'
('', '', '')

This is because Archlinux is not part of the '_supported_dists' list.

Could Archlinux be added to this list ?

Thanks.

Can Archlinux be added to _supported_dists as requested in msg209764, I've no understanding of the criteria involved here?

Hey guys,

Just add:

    if os.path.exists('/etc/arch-release'):
        distname = 'arch'

in "_dist_try_harder"

then replace the old list with this one:

_supported_dists = (
    'SuSE', 'debian', 'fedora', 'redhat', 'centos',
    'mandrake', 'mandriva', 'rocks', 'slackware', 'yellowdog', 'gentoo',
    'UnitedLinux', 'turbolinux', 'arch')

And that's it, it works.

Since the direction we are heading seems to toward deprecating linux_distribution (see http://bugs.python.org/issue1322#msg207427), I think this issue should be closed.

The problem is, existing software (Ansible) relies on linux_distribution()

linux_distribution is removed in Python 3.7.
Closing.

Er, sorry, I meant in 3.8.