Python Win installations and PYTHONPATH Confusion (WAS: Re: Python Path Blues)

[Tim Peters]

[Maan Hamze]
> ...
> how come that the libs that come with pythonwin (regular python libs,
> not only the ones that are win32 specific) depend heavily on the
> registry but the ones that are added later by the user can not depend
> solely on the reistry but on PYTHONWIN setting in environment?  This is
> disturbing.  Please note that Pythonwin and Python are still reading the
> PYTHONWIN setting in the environment but they do not create it.

Nothing in the core Python distribution looks at PYTHONWIN, so I'm not sure
what you're saying there.  I don't know what PythonWin does, though.

The best docs about what Python on Windows does are in the long comment
block at the top of

    PC\getpathp.c

in the source distribution.  If you read those and disagree with them, best
to sort it out with Mark Hammond (and, yes, those comments "should" work
their way into the docs -- patches, as always, gratefully accepted).