Per user dirs on Non-Unix platforms (was Re: [Python-Dev] Where to install non-code files)

[Peter Funk]

[Guido van Rossum]
[...]
> Modifyable data needs to go in a per-user directory, even on Windows,
> outside the Python tree.

Is there a reliable algorithm to find a "per-user" directory on any
Win95/98/NT/2000 system?  On MacOS?  

Idea: Wouldn't it be nice if the 'nt' and 'mac' versions of the 'os'
module would provide 'os.environ["HOME"]' similar to the posix
version?  This would certainly simplify the task of application
programmers intending to write portable applications.

Regards, Peter