[Numpy-discussion] Monkeypatching vs nose plugin?

[Fernando Perez]

Howdy,

In working on the ipython testing  machinery, I looked at the numpy
nosetester.py file and found that it works by monkeypatching nose
itself.  I'm curious as to why this approach was taken rather than
constructing a plugin object.  In general, monkeypatching should be
done as a last-resort trick, because it tends to be brittle and can
cause bizarre problems to users who after running numpy.test() find
that their normal nose-using code starts doing funny things.

Any thoughts/insights?

Cheers,

f