Newbie question about importing modules.

[cronoklee]

On Wed, Dec 22, 2010 at 7:57 PM, Tim Roberts <ti... at probo.com> wrote:
cronoklee wrote:
>
> Thanks Tim - You've certainly shed some light. I presume the PIL
> installer is setup.py and installation is simple a case of running it?

Yes:
   python setup.py install

That scheme is called "distutils".  Since it became part of the standard
Python distribution many years ago, it is now ubiquitous.

> Is this usually the case for python 'source distribution' packages?

Yes.  In the Linux world, with a few exceptions, EVERY Python add-on
package is installed that way.  In the Windows world, most smaller
packages come that way.  Larger packages will have an MSI installer that
does essentially the same thing.

Once in a while, you'll download a script that consists only of a single
file.  That would really be the only exception.

> Is there a term for packages that do not need to be installed? This
> might help me search for them in future.

I don't think that's the right answer.  The installation process is
rarely more complicated than copying files to the site-packages
directory of your current Python version.  The installer can verify
dependencies and make sure everything is OK.  It's a Good Thing.

--
Tim Roberts




Thanks a lot Tim - all makes sense. I appreciate the lesson!
cronoklee