[Python-Dev] Mac toolbox modules for MacOSX unix-Python

[Jack Jansen]

I now have a whole stack of modules that interface to MacOS toolboxes
that compile for unix-Python on MacOSX, but I'm a bit unsure about how
I should add these to the standard build.

So far what I've checked in (in configure) is only a bit of glue that
allows the toolbox modules to be loaded, but not yet the changes to
setup.py that will actually compile and link the modules.

I can do this in two ways:
1) Keep everything as-is and just check in the mods to setup.py.
2) Make the MacOS toolbox modules dependent on a configure switch. The
toolbox glue would then also become dependent on this switch.

The first option seems to be the standard nowadays: setup.py simply
builds everything it can find and for which the prerequisite
headers/libs are found.

The second option seems a bit more friendly to Pythoneers who view
MacOSX as simply unix-with-a-pretty-face and use Python only for
command-line scripts and cgi and such. Also, the toolbox modules will
be less stable than average modules for some time to be: as they're
shared between unix-Python and MacPython and generated on the latter
the repository version might not build for a few days while I get my
act together. On the other hand: a failing compile of an extension
module shouldn't bother them overmuch, and one can always comment out
the setup.py lines.

A problem with the second option is that I have absolutely no idea how
to test for configure flags in setup.py.

To complicate matters more I'm thinking of turning Python into a
framework, which would give OSX-Python a lot of the niceties that
MacPython users are used to (applets and building standalone applications
without a C compiler, to name two). In that case many users will
probably choose either to go the whole way (install Python as a
framework and include the tooolbox modules) or forget about the macos
stuff altogether.

What do people think about this?
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