[Python-Dev] [Pydotorg] Should we help pythonmac.org?

[Fred Drake]

[Removed pydotorg from the recipients; this has nothing to do with the  
website.]

On Aug 19, 2008, at 10:51 AM, Jesse Noller wrote:
> Just to add to this - with the advent of PEP 370[1], we now have the
> ability to use per-user site-packages directories. This neatly
> sidesteps the problem (for the most part) of tainting the system
> installations of python directly.

True.  This can help with newer Pythons.  It doesn't really deal with  
having multiple Python versions, IIRC.

> As for the Mac issue - as a mac user/developer - I only install "big
> ticket" packages into the system path - for everything else, I either
> use virtualenv.py, a custom python install or the PYTHONPATH
> overrides.

I've no idea what a "big ticket" package would be.  Using zc.buildout  
nicely sidesteps any issues of installing into the Python  
installation, and caches expensive builds.

> I've personally *never* used a python distribution from macports or
> fink - if I need a custom build, I'll do it myself, rather than
> install something into the /opt/ tree macports uses - I've had too
> many issues with library/binary conflicts with the pre-installed
> libraries/tools from twiddling with PATH and LD_LIBRARY_PATH to add
> the /opt tree to my environment in order to get compiles/tools to play
> nice.


I'd go so far as to say that any reliance on LD_LIBRARY_PATH is a bad  
idea, since it's horribly fragile.  But I do link in the readline from  
macports.


   -Fred

-- 
Fred Drake   <fdrake at acm.org>