[Numpy-discussion] Setuptools leftover junk

[Robert Kern]

Fernando Perez wrote:

> Is it really necessary to have all that setuptools junk left around,
> for those of us who aren't asking for it explicitly?  My personal
> opinions on setuptools aside, I think it's just a sane practice not to
> create this kind of extra baggage unless explicitly requested.
> 
> I scoured my home directory for any .file which might be triggering
> this inadvertedly, but I can't seem to find any, so I'm going to guess
> this is somehow being caused by numpy's own setup.  If it's my own
> mistake, I'll be happy to be shown how to coexist peacefully with
> setuptools.
> 
> Since this also affects user code (I think via f2py or something
> internal to numpy, since all I'm calling is f2py in my code), I really
> think it would be nice to clean it.

numpy.distutils uses setuptools if it is importable in order to make sure that 
the two don't stomp on each other. It's probable that that test could probably 
be done with Andrew Straw's method:

   if 'setuptools' in sys.modules:
     have_setuptools = True
     from setuptools import setup as old_setup
   else:
     have_setuptools = False
     from distutils.core import setup as old_setup

Tested patches welcome.

-- 
Robert Kern

"I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma
  that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had
  an underlying truth."
   -- Umberto Eco