[Distutils] Some negative press for easy_install

[Paul Moore]

On 2/9/06, Michael Twomey <micktwomey at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Joe Gregorio has a fairly negative experience with easy_install here:
> http://bitworking.org/news/Please_stop_using_setuptools__at_least_exclusively__for_now____
>
> I think his points boil roughly down to these:
[...]
> 5. At this point he gives up and copies the source from svn.

This is the one that struck me as the biggest issue. Joe is right that
setuptools is still in alpha - so authors offering setuptools-based
installs should be fully aware that they risk breakage, frustration,
and similar from their users. That's to be expected. If you don't like
the pain of alpha software, then avoid it.

If routes *needed* setuptools functionality, then fine - but explain
this prominently somewhere: "This package uses setuptools, which is
currently in alpha status - there may be issues installing or using
the software. If you hit any problems, please report them to the
distils-sg, and thank you for helping to test setuptools". But clearly
routes does not need setuptolols functionality (or the Routes tests
aren't complete - as Joe said that all the tests run). So why not
provide a non-setuptools build, for users who don't want to fight with
the bleeding edge?

Just my 2p worth...
Paul.