For example, the standard library already has urllib2, which provides HTTP support much better than most other languages' standard libraries. But Requests is a rewrite of it, taking ease of use to a whole new level without compromising any of the features. There is no equivalent in any other language.
I don't know, LWP is pretty easy to use.
IMO, Python's stdlib beats C++, Ruby, Java, javascript and Perl....
Vast amounts of it are actually incomplete or outright broken when you try to use it in practice.
The reliable parts of Python's standard library are at a level little beyond C and C++ and far behind Perl/CPAN, Java, .Net and so on.
And even then, as the article we're discussing points out, the APIs aren't actually very good a lot of the time.
As someone who has spent the last 5.5 years at a job where I didn't need anything but the standard library, I don't agree. What are these other languages that contain a better situation?
If you say a "std lib" is something that is installed along with the language, then CPAN fits the bill.
$ corelist CPAN
CPAN was first released with perl 5.004Even if CPAN was a standard library, that which you install from it is clearly not, which is what the argument to date has centered around.