[Distutils] Distutils cookbook or how to specify a dependency?

[anatoly techtonik]

Hello,

I've noticed there is a Cookbook dedicated to distutils at
http://wiki.python.org/moin/Distutils/Cookbook

It looks a little deserted, so before asking to include my own
specific problem into this Cookbook I would like to ask if developers
are interested in using Cookbook approach as a supplement to a PEP.
PEPs are good at presenting a solution, but bad at collecting primary
information for testing the proposal. For example, most of us would
like to see setuptools distributed with Python instead of downloading
bootstrap script again and again. But there is already distutils
module, so we should concentrate on enhancing it instead. But there is
another but - distutils can not be enhanced, because... (well, why?)
... I can only suggest that distutils can not be enhanced, because it
needs serious redesign, because it lacks too many features and there
is a fear that redesign can break existing API and nobody can step in,
because it is all the way too complex.

But if there was a primary Cookbook page with listing of all the tasks
you need distutils for and tasks you need setuptools for, it will be
possible to port feature-by-feature. Having such page may save some
time and present a tutorial and a reference for people who
occasionally use setuptools to distribute their application without
wasting too much time studying all the gory details of
distutils/setuptools API. I've noticed that many developers find it
hard to find an entrypoint into proper way to distribute their
apps/modules, because of the lack of time. Don't you think that
documentation for these people is something to be considered more
seriously than PEP implementation or even the primary thing to start
with?


As for my specific problem - is there a way to specify dependency
required to _install_ a package, so that easy_install would download
that dependency prior to executing setup.py?


--anatoly t.