Python in Linux - barrier to Python 3.x

[Lawrence D'Oliveiro]

In message <87zkvbytnk.fsf at web.de>, Diez B. Roggisch wrote:

> Of course, in a ideal world, distutils would hook into the distros
> dependency system + simply say "please install python-dev first".
> 
> But I'm not convinced that putting the weight here on the shoulders of
> the python-communtiy to deal with arbirtray decisions of the dozen or
> how many distros + packaging schemes out there is possible - and helpful.

Fair enough. I think the right answer is for the package-management systems 
to bear the burden of coping with the established installation mechanisms of 
particular major subsystems.

There may be a slight mismatch, in that distutils is source-based, whereas 
most Linux distros (with the notable exception of Gentoo) expect to 
distribute and install prebuilt binaries. I suspect this is not 
insurmountable.