[Python-Dev] Re: [Distutils] Questions about distutils strategy

[Guido van Rossum]

> It needed a name. I hate the word "Installer", but it expresses 
> in one word the most common use of my stuff.
> 
> I'll be releasing a beta for Linux real soon. Only some of the 
> tricks are Windows only (such as self-extracting executables, 
> which is only culturally appropriate on Windows, anyway).
> 
> But more importantly it's not just for installing. The Python I 
> use (interactively) on my wife's machine is 1 directory with 
> about 6 files in it. On my Linux box I've been using the std lib 
> in a .pyz for about a month now. Someone distributing a pure 
> Python package could instead ship 3 files (imputil.py, 
> archive.py and <package>.pyz) with the "install" consisting of 
> adding one line to site.py in the user's perfectly normal Python 
> installation.
> 
> And yeah, I solved the "manifest" problem, too. Mine predates 
> Distutils, so don't accuse me of duplicate effort, (I pointed 
> them to it a couple times). It uses ConfigParser and a config 
> file, so it allows finer control.
> 
> While .pyz's are completely cross-platform, I have yet to work 
> out endianness issues in the other archive I use (which should 
> probably be zip format - it can hold anything). And at the 
> "Installer" end, I have yet to work out how things should work 
> on non-ELF/COFF platforms (where I can't append the archive 
> to the executable). But there aren't any technical issues 
> involved; just lack of time.
> 
> So no, it's not just for Windows; and no, it's not just for 
> creating standalones (though that's what almost everyone 
> uses it for).

Gordon, I'm sorry, but from this description I still have no idea what
your stuff is (and I forgot the URL so I can't look it up).  For
example, if it's not (just) for installing, what *is* it for?

What is the ``"manifest" problem'' and how did you solve it?

Also, note that editing site.py is a no-no!  You can create/edit
sitecustomize.py, but you should leave site.py alone!

--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)