[Distutils] Installing scripts

Fred L. Drake, Jr. fdrake at acm.org
Thu Jun 10 16:27:29 EDT 2004


On Thursday 10 June 2004 04:06 pm, Tim Peters wrote:
 > "scripts" in the sense we're using here are Python files, and in Windows
 > they're only useful from "a DOS box".  It's not useful to double-click on
 > them, it's not useful to have Start menu entries(*) for them, and it would

Agreed.

 > be hostile to hide them in a hard-to-spell-in-a-DOS-box directory (like
 > anywhere under the space-ridden "Program Files").

What's a little hostility among Windows users?  They're used to it.  :-)

Seriously, though, I agree.  "Program Files" is hostile in general for anyone 
using a command line.

 > For cross-platform *development*, all Python files should have a .py
 > extension.  On Windows the extension drives editors and printers too (not
 > just the "open" action in a DOS box window).

I'm actually pretty OK with this.  It's slightly distasteful, but survivable.

 > If the build_scripts command wants to strip .py extensions on non-Windows
 > boxes, that's fine by me.

Cool.

 > I'm happy enough with where they end up on
 > Windows now, and delighted there are no Start menu entries for them, it's
 > just the lack of the natural (on Windows) .py extension that creates
 > needless pain (on Windows).

Again, agreed.  We just need to make sure the .py is there on Windows and not 
on installed scripts on Unix.

 > (*) The only thing useful to have in the Start menu is a program
 >     that supplies its own GUI, or a program that has no UI.  On Windows,
 >     that's what the .pyw extension is for (brings up Python without
 >     "a DOS box", so there's no UI at all unless the script supplies
 >     its own UI; for example, IDLE supplies its own UI, via Tk).

This brings up a related question:  If a distribution provides scripts that 
end with .pyw, should they be omitted from the builld/installation on 
non-Windows platforms (possibly with a warning to the user)?  Do we want a 
way to tell distutils about platform-specific scripts so they don't get 
installed on platforms to which they don't apply?


  -Fred

-- 
Fred L. Drake, Jr.  <fdrake at acm.org>
PythonLabs at Zope Corporation




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