[Python-Dev] First draft of "sysconfig"

[David Lyon]

On Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:05:18 +1100, Mark Hammond
<mhammond at skippinet.com.au>
wrote:
>> But under windows, an application developer might (as in probably
>> would) like to install an application in \Program Files\someapp
>> rather than hidden in the bowels of the python interpretor.
> 
> I agree - but in that case you are talking about an application built 
> with Python - that is a different set of requirements.  

Building an application with python.. that's right. Of course. Why not?

> IOW, this isn't designed for applications which happen to be written in 
> Python.  There might be a case for such a module to be created, but this 
> PEP doesn't attempt to solve that particular problem.

But programmers might want to write an application with python. It
doesn't seem like such an edge-case thing to do.

>> They might like their data in "Application Data", which is where
>> support people get trained to look for application data. Not down
>> in \pythonX.Y\ ...
> 
> Nothing is stopping them from doing that - but this PEP isn't intended 
> to provide that information.

Distutils is stopping them.

> It does - many applications written in Python exist which do exactly 
> that.  

Yes. And they don't use any of the built in facilities, under windows.

> If a user really wants to install Python itself under "\Program 
> Files", sysconfig should correctly reflect that.  Python doesn't care 
> where it is installed, or even when it is (sensibly) bundled with an app 
> which is designed to be "stand-alone".

No debate about that.

> You are after operating system properties - I understand your need to 
> know those paths (and there are already reasonable Windows specific ways 
> to get them), but sysconfig isn't trying to solve that for you and I 
> agree it should not attempt to.

So under windows, then, what is it trying to solve? Thats what I am
asking.

David