[Distutils] Packaging with bdist_wininst on Python 2.3, installing on Python 2.4

[David Handy]

Packaging with bdist_wininst on Python 2.3, installing on Python 2.4

I decided to try installing a distutils package produced by bdist_wininst on
Python 2.3 on an alpha release of Python 2.4 (2.4a1). It's a pure python
package, designed for Python 2.3 and greater, so it should just work, right?

The good news is that the package .py files and data files got copied to the
right places.

The bad news is that the bdist_wininst message gave me an ugly error
message:

    *** Could not load Python ***

It did not run my post-install script, even though it said "Postinstall
script finished". (Also it did not compile .py files to .pyc)

Furthermore, it created an entry for my package in the "Add or Remove
Programs" control panel applet, but when I went to actually uninstall the
package, the package Remove*.exe program crashed. So I can't uninstall it
and I can't remove it from the list of installed programs (except by hacking
the registry.)

Is this all "expected behavior"? Am I hosed?

Do I have to produce separate bdist_wininst packages for Python 2.3 and
Python 2.4, and then try to document for my poor naive users (who are just
learning computer programming) which one to download and when?

What should I expect to happen if I produce a bdinst_wininst package with
Python 2.4 and then install it in Python 2.3?

Help!
David H.