[Python-Dev] Re: Problem with SSL and socketmodule on Debian Potato?

[Martin v. Loewis]

> Sometimes I wonder if going to setup.py to build modules was a
> mistake.  It would be easy to use autoconf to test of the
> RAND_status function exists.  OTOH, its probably not too hard to add
> the smarts to setup.py.

I don't think it was a mistake. First, even though Python had been
using autoconf for years, nobody came up with a complete patch to
autoconfiscate Modules/Setup, or define a different configuration
mechanism. So using setup.py was an improvement over the status quo,
even if not an improvement over some not-implemented technique - which
might have never been implemented.

Furthermore, as Marc-Andr=E9 points out: there is nothing that stops
setup.py/distutils from using the same strategies as autoconf.

Finally, in this specific case, I do think that the best strategy is
to check for the version of OpenSSL. This is against autoconf
philosophy (check for features, not for versions), but since the SSL
support is tied to a specific implementation, rather than an API with
competing implementations, checking the version does no harm and
simplifies the configuration machinery.

Regards,
Martin