Problem formatting Python docs with MikTeX

[Michael Abbott]

I'm trying to build the Python 2.2 documents using the following command:

    >python ..\tools\mkhowto --paper=a4 --dvi ..\ref\ref.tex

This appears to be the proper way (extracted from the make file; I don't 
have a suitable make installed), and after some mysterious background work 
this fires up latex with a suitable TEXINPUTS path, witness the transcript 
(slightly reformatted for 75 columns):


>python ..\tools\mkhowto --paper=a4 --dvi ..\ref\ref.tex
+++ TEXINPUTS=C:\Python22\src\Python-2.2b1\Doc\ref;C:\Python22\src\Python-
2.2b1\Doc\paper-a4;C:\Python22\src\Python-2.2b1\Doc\texinputs;
+++ latex ref
This is TeX, Version 3.14159 (MiKTeX 2.1)
(C:\Python22\src\Python-2.2b1\Doc\ref\ref.tex
LaTeX2e <2000/06/01>
Babel <v3.7h> and hyphenation patterns for english, french, german, 
ngerman, dumylang, nohyphenation, loaded.
(C:\texmf\tex\latex\nassflow\manual.cls
Document Class: manual 1997/02/05 v2.0 CAWCS manuals
(C:\texmf\tex\latex\base\size10.clo))
(C:\Python22\src\Python-2.2b1\Doc\texinputs\boilerplate.tex
! Undefined control sequence.
l.3 \authoraddress
                  {
?


Unfortunately, the import of manual.cls shows that I have a serious 
problem: the TEXINPUTS path is evidently being searched (by MixTex) in the 
wrong order.  There is a manual.cls in my Python texinputs directory, but 
MikTeX is kindly picking up the version in its own distribution.  (Note 
that the TEXINPUTS path clearly *is* being successfully searched later on.)

Ouch!  

Any suggestions on how to proceed?  The only hack I can think of is to take 
all the files in the Python directory, hunt down any aliases in the MikTeX 
directory and destroy or hide them.  Not pretty.

Is this a problem with my version of MikTeX, or do I need to change the way 
in which latex is being invoked?