How are you using Python?

[Steve Holden]

"Matt Gerrans" <matt_gerrans at hp.com> wrote ...
> > "If you want to be able to import a module you wrote
> > yourself from another directory, put that module in
> > C:\Python22\Lib\site-packages"
>
> You can of course add directories to the PythonPath and to .PTH files in
> your Python directory, also.   Additionally, you can append to sys.path at
> runtime, for ultimate flexibility.
>
> I don't really like the idea of cluttering up the site-packages directory
> with all my own modules and scripts.   Tangling your stuff with the
> distributed stuff makes for a mess, especially when it come time to
> uninstall the old Python and install a new version of Python.
>

Just so's you know, I recently deinstalled python 2.2.1 from my Cygwin
installation and upgraded to python 2.2.1-1 (which inlcudes threading,
unlike its predecessor). I was delighted to find that the modules installed
in site-packages were still present - even mxODBC, which you may know is a
binary extension.

So it's probably almost as easy to let packages install where they naturally
go than have to track them and use special setup.py arguments to install
them somewhere else.

As far as your own scripts go, of course, you can choose not to use setup.py
and install them wherever you like.

regards
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Holden                                 http://www.holdenweb.com/
Python Web Programming                http://pydish.holdenweb.com/pwp/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------