Why does Python never add itself to the Windows path?

[Ross Ridge]

Ben Sizer wrote:
> I've installed several different versions of Python across several
> different versions of MS Windows, and not a single time was the Python
> directory or the Scripts subdirectory added to the PATH environment
> variable.

Personally, I hate Windows applications that add themselves to the
PATH.  So much crap gets put in there that I don't even use the default
system PATH and just set my own explicitly.

> Every time, I've had to go through and add this by hand, to
> have something resembling a usable Python installation.

If you're installing multiple versions of Python on one machine you're
going to have to do this anyways to ensure the version of Python you
want first in the path actually is first.

> No such  problems on Linux, whether it be Mandrake/Mandriva, Fedora Core, or
> Kubuntu.

Linux distributions normally install themselves somewhere that's
normally in the path already.  I suppose you can do the same thing on
Windows if you want, just choose to install Python into directory
that's already in your path.  Though installing to something like
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 is probably not a good idea.

                                        Ross Ridge