[Python-Dev] "setuptools has divided the Python community"

[Ben Finney]

Paul Moore <p.f.moore at gmail.com> writes:

> Please don't move bdist_wininst out of the core, though!
> 
> I'd argue that Windows is a special case, as many Windows users
> don't have the ability to build their own extensions, so they rely
> heavily on binary installers. And there's no "Windows packagers"
> organisation to produce such things in the way that Linux has people
> building debs, rpms, etc.

This is the case for many free-software projects; yet such projects
(depending on popularity) *do* accumulate volunteers capable of
building binary packages for their platform, and then contributing
them back to the project for use by all.

None of this needs explicit special handling in the ‘distutils’ core,
IIUC.

> Making it as easy as possible for a random developer to build a
> Windows installer (by including bdist_wininst or equivalent in the
> core) is therefore significantly more beneficial than doing the same
> for a Linux/Mac/Solaris/... installer (Mac users or anyone else
> speak up here if I'm misrepresenting you!)

I would argue that the Python community has a wealth of people quite
capable of taking on this particular task, and if it makes the core
architecture and maintenance of ‘distutils’ simpler to remove special
cases for binary installers, I think that's a pearl of great price.

-- 
 \        “Holy uncanny photographic mental processes, Batman!” —Robin |
  `\                                                                   |
_o__)                                                                  |
Ben Finney