[Distutils] Distutils changes - end user requirements (Was: Deprecate MANIFEST.in)

[Paul Moore]

2009/4/9 Tres Seaver <tseaver at palladion.com>:
> Is there a technical reason why Windows users cannot build the
> installers themselves from "pure Python" sdists?  I would rather
> distribute *no* binaries at all, myself, especially if "self-help"
> works.  Stuff which requires a compiler is obviously a barrier for many
> Windows users:  such packages normally need a Windows-savvy contributor
> to do the installer build, which often lags the 'sdist' release by a
> noticeable period.

No technical reason, no. It's as simple as "python setup.py
bdist_wininst" or "python setup.py mdist_msi". Personally, I'm happy
doing that for any pure python package that doesn't provide an
installer.

The only downside is that not all packages document whether they are
pure Python. It can be frustrating to download a package, unpack it,
and try to build it only to find out that it has C code that won't
build. Or even more subtle, it builds fine, but ignores important
speedup code written in C...

But the main reason is social - Windows users expect to download
installers, and have a low tolerance for projects that don't provide
such. And a low tolerance for anything involving a command line, in
many cases. Call us bone idle if you must, but it's a fact you need to
deal with in considering a Windows audience.

However, it's equally true (I believe) that "python setup.py
bdist_wininst" works fine on a Linux box. So it's not as if building
Windows installers is a huge chore for developers, either. (I accept
that there are other tasks, like distribution). It's a trade-off of
developer time vs user time (and I fully accept that this trade-off
comes out differently in an open source/volunteer environment).

Paul.