[Distutils] How to implement ‘setup.py’ functionality that itself needs third-party distributions

[Michael Merickel]

On Tue, Jan 20, 2015 at 9:27 PM, Ben Finney <ben+python at benfinney.id.au> wrote:
> Is there an API within Distutils or Setuptools that allows me to say “I
> haven't declared anything yet but go get and install distribution FOO
> right now”? I could do that before importing the module which needs
> Docutils.

What you're asking for is the *exact* purpose of Daniel Holth's
setup-requires project linked in earlier posts. It's a downfall in the
current tooling where there is no declarative configuration.