[Distutils] Re: CPAN functionality for python

[Tim Peters]

[Guido]
> (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.)

[John J. Lee]
> Surely this is a function of free vs. non-free software as opposed to
> which particular packaging format you are using?

I doubt it has much to do with either.  It's more that, over very painful
years of installers that routinely crashed, Windows apps that rely on
anything external have learned to ship with *everything* they need.  Heck,
the Windows Python installer even ships with a copy of Microsoft's C runtime
libraries, just in case the platform installed on doesn't have a reasonably
up-to-date copy.  If we did something similar on Linux, we'd ship Python
there with its own glibc <0.7 wink>.

shudder-if-you-like-but-it-would-have-stopped-the-platform-
    LONG_BIT-screwups-ly y'rs  - tim