[Distutils] Re: CPAN functionality for python

[Guido van Rossum]

> There are enough different packaging schemes around that it seems
> unnecessarily heavy-handed to pick one (or two or three) over the
> others - Python should not appear to favor any paticular system.  The
> only way I can see to do that is to not package to anyones spec, but
> provide enough information so that anyone can package to their
> fav spec.

But practicality beats purity: if a large fraction of users,
especially newbie users, are using a specific platform, it makes a lot
of sense to provide pre-packaged distributions for them!  E.g. Windows
installers, Red Hat RPMs.  (So far my experience with Windows
installers is much more positive than with RPMs though -- RPMs forever
seem to depend on some version of some other RPM that you don't have.)

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