Installing modules (SciPy) without root permission.

[Fernando Perez]

Jacek Generowicz wrote:

> 
> 1) I often find myself in an environment where the local python
> installation does not have a module I wish to use (usually
> Numeric), and where I do not have write access to the python
> installation directories.
> 
> Is there a way to add such modules without re-installing python in
> my own space ?

Yes. Set the env. variable PYTHONPATH and the directories listed in it (colon 
separated like a PATH) will be added to sys.path upon startup. You can then 
import anything in them.


> 2) I have been meaning to check-out SciPy for a while now, but the
> installation process seems almost fractal; each required package
> itself requires some packages, each of which requires ...  :-) As
> SciPy is not essential to me, I have not been sufficiently
> motivated to coplete this process (my strongest effort ground to a
> halt with gtk incompatibiliy problems, IIRC).
> 
> Is installing SciPy really as painful as it seems ?  (If so, is
> there any hope that it will become easier ?)

It's gotten a _lot_ better with the new nightly build system. Try it out, and 
if you have problems post with tracebacks to the scipy-user list. Chances are 
you'll get help within a few hours to a day.

Cheers,

f.