[Python-Dev] addressing distutils inability to track file dependencies

[Alex Martelli]

On Friday 14 June 2002 10:04 am, M.-A. Lemburg wrote:
	...
> distutils, as the name says, is a tool for distributing
> source code; that doesn't have much to do with developing code
> where dependency analysis is nice to have since it saves compile

However, distutils is already today the handiest building environment, 
particularly if your extension needs to support several platforms and/or 
several versions of Python.

> The question is whether we want distutils to be a development
> tool as well, or rather stick to its main purpose: that of
> simplifying distribution and installation of software (and
> thanks to Greg, it's great at that !).

The "problem" (:-) is that it's great at just building extensions, too.

python2.1 setup.py install, python2.2 setup.py install, python2.3 setup.py 
install, and hey pronto, I have my extension built and installed on all 
Python versions I want to support, ready for testing.  Hard to beat!-)


Alex