[Distutils] Installing scripts

[Tim Peters]

[Mark W. Alexander]
...
> I'm not sure I agree. If a developer wants to distribute a Python in a
> DOS box for Windows, Distutils certainly shouldn't prevent it.

I'm saying that distutils should continue not making up Start menu entries
on its own for scripts.  That's not the same as saying distutils should
prevent someone from doing so.

> A simple, scriptable Python text only IRC client might be popular (but
> this is from a guy who has a Cygwin rxvt under ssh-agent launched in his
> rarely-booted XP autostart ;)

It has no chance of being popular unless it does *something* to supply a
usable UI.  The DOS box Windows brings up by default for a .py file isn't
usable:  the font and size are never what you want, and the DOS box vanishes
the instant Python exits (in particular, if Python exits because of an
uncaught exception, all evidence vanishes).

The correct way to do something like this on Windows is to create a .pif
file (you get many of those in viruses <wink>) shortcut, so the developer
can specify the properties of the DOS box that pops up (including that it
not vanish when Python exits).  A pointer to that could be added to the
Start menu too, of course.  A practical developer would use something like
InnoSetup to drive this (which could also drive a distutils procedure).