distutils user questions

[boxy440]

Hi,

When I want to install a package in 2 steps, first building
in a separate build dir (say, --build-base=~/temp/build_foo),
then installing in my own packages directory (usually,
--home=~/opt), for the install phase, how does setup.py know
I've already run the build? That is, when I tell setup.py to
install, how does it know that I previously ran a build, and
where to find those build products?

Also, how do I use a given setup.py to *un*install its package
or module?