Why does Python never add itself to the Windows path?

["Martin v. Löwis"]

Ben Sizer schrieb:
> I've installed several different versions of Python across several
> different versions of MS Windows, and not a single time was the Python
> directory or the Scripts subdirectory added to the PATH environment
> variable. Every time, I've had to go through and add this by hand, to
> have something resembling a usable Python installation. No such
> problems on Linux, whether it be Mandrake/Mandriva, Fedora Core, or
> Kubuntu. So why is the Windows install half-crippled by default? 

For several reasons:
1. Python can be used just fine without being on PATH. Python
   scripts run fine both when double-clicked and when invoked in
   the command line, and if you want to use an interactive
   interpreter, you can find it readily on the Start menu.
2. Many windows users (including myself) dislike setup routines that
   manipulate PATH. I believe that the PATH environment variable
   is "owned" by the user; if Python is to be found in PATH, it
   should rather be installed to a directory that is known to live
   on PATH (or where CreateProcess searches, anyway, such
   as system32). So if the installer had such a feature, it should
   be optional, and it should default to "off".
3. Most importantly: it is difficult to implement, and nobody has
   contributed code to make it work.

Regards,
Martin