[Distutils] (no subject)

[Dethe Elza]

Hi folks,

Over on the vpython-users mailing list I've been trying to get help  
with VPython's complicated autoconf-based setup, which turns out to  
be fairly broken for OS X.  They realize that the current setup is  
too complex and are looking at other options.  The following is an  
exerpt from the ongoing discussion:

> On Wed, 2005-10-19 at 21:06 -0700, Dethe Elza wrote:
>
>> On 19-Oct-05, at 4:57 PM, Jonathan Brandmeyer wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Are you (or anyone else out there) familiar with Scons?
>>>
>>
>> What is wrong with using distutils[1], the standard method for
>> building Python extensions?  The new Setuptools[2] package makes it
>> even easier, and supports EasyInstall[3] and Python Eggs[4].
>>
>> [1] http://docs.python.org/lib/module-distutils.html
>> [2] http://peak.telecommunity.com/DevCenter/setuptools
>> [3] http://peak.telecommunity.com/DevCenter/EasyInstall
>> [4] http://peak.telecommunity.com/DevCenter/PythonEggs
>>
>
> But it doesn't properly support C++, or the use of a compiler other  
> than
> the one that built Python itself.  Those features are absolutely
> required for VPython.
>
> -Jonathan

I'm not a distutils/setuptools expert (though I'm willing and eager  
to become one rather than struggle with autoconf any further), but  
can anyone tell me if Jonathan's statement is even true?

I'm willing to create a parallel setuptools-based builder just for OS  
X use, since the same compiler problem isn't an issue on OS X, but  
can I use distutils with C++ code?

Thanks!

--Dethe