[Distutils] The problem with Setuptools on Python 3.

[P.J. Eby]

At 09:11 PM 4/20/2009 +0200, Lennart Regebro wrote:
>"Isolated"? What do you mean?

Making a separate setup script for Python 3, at least for setuptools 
itself, if not having a general convention for that, since other 
packages may want to ship 2+3 stuff in the same package.

Or, in the alternative, using version testing in setup.py to run an 
alternate script for Python 3.


>If you have suggestions on how to solve
>the problems I'm describing, can you please come forward with them,
>I've asked several times already. All you do is say "no, no, no, no,
>no", and "becasue". It isn't helpful.

I'm sorry you feel that way, as I've been *trying* to help.  I just 
still don't get what the problem is.  If I were porting setuptools to 
Python 3, I would *want* it to be circular, even if I had to hack on 
it a little at first.  So I have a hard time understanding why you don't.

But I'm not you -- I understand the code base and I'm not trying to 
port it.  Maybe if I were trying to port it, I would get what problem 
you're having, or maybe I would just keep right on going and not 
notice.  I don't know.  I've been trying to find out what exactly is 
stopping you and just can't seem to wrap my brain around it, any more 
than you've been able to about the reverse.


> > For end-user convenience.  A large number of people installing setuptools
> > are not installing it because they are personally interested in it, but
> > because something else they want uses it.
>
>Yes? And again you don't explain how this leads to you conclusion.

Mostly because your questions aren't pinpointing what you want to 
know.  You ask general questions, so I give general answers.  We seem 
to both be suffering from a surplus of assumptions of what should be 
"obvious" to the other person.  For example, this:

>Eggs are not easier to install, on the contrary, I have tried and
>failed a couple of times, and ended up using the source install
>instead.

...seems to indicate that your question was actually about eggs, not 
other-than-source distributions in general.  I was mostly talking 
about the wininst installers and source RPM.  The eggs are there, on 
the other hand, for ez_setup.py to download. (Not to mention 
buildout's bootstrap script, and other tools that depend on 
setuptools and want to have an automated overall install process.)