[Python-Dev] distutils in Python 2.1 not ready for prime time

[Sjoerd Mullender]

I just updated my copy of python with the current CVS version and I am
not happy.

The current version uses distutils for configuring and compiling most
modules that are written in C.  That is a nice idea in theory, but in
practice it's not ready for prime time yet.  The major advantage of
using a Setup file is that you can add your own -I and -L compiler
flags on a module-by-module basis.  I *need* those flags since not all
libraries and include files are in standard places (e.g. I need
-I/usr/local/include and -L/usr/local/lib for some modules which my
compiler doesn't provide by itself).  There seems to be no way to tell
distutils to supply those flags.  The documentation (only on the web
site, also not great, but I assume more documentation (at least an
up-to-date README) will be provided in the final release) says that
that has not yet been implemented.

-- Sjoerd Mullender <sjoerd.mullender@oratrix.com>