[python-win32] Running a Windows Python service without pythonservice.exe?

[Bill Janssen]

A few weeks ago, Mark mentioned that there's now a way to run a Windows
service without pythonservice.exe.

I'd like to hear more about that.  Right now, I'm stuck with my UpLib
system on Windows.  I'd like to be able to install everything in the
UpLib directory, including a private copy of Python and PyWin32.  But
then there's no way to tell pythonservice.exe where the modules are, and
so Python services don't start.

I'm thinking the problem is this code in PythonService.cpp:

// Our EXE entry point.
 1540 
 1541 int _tmain(int argc, TCHAR **argv)
 1542 {
 1543 	PyObject *module, *f;
 1544 	PyThreadState *threadState;
 1545 	HMODULE hmod;
 1546 	FARPROC proc;
 1547 	Py_Initialize();
 1548 	PyEval_InitThreads();
 1549 	module = PyImport_ImportModule("servicemanager");
 1550 	if (!module) goto failed;

I've got the PyWin32 extensions installed in a private site-packages
directory under my stuff, which isn't the same as the Python
site-packages site.  I need a way to set PYTHONPATH, or in some other
way initialize the DLL load path and Python sys.path, before running the
pythonservice.exe, don't I?  Otherwise, this load of "servicemanager"
will fail (and Py_Initialize() will fail if I don't copy
pythonservice.exe to the same location as python.exe and python26.dll).

Bill