[SciPy-user] install location of the newcore header files

[Gerard Vermeulen]

I finally discovered where the header files get installed when reading CAPI.txt;
on the scip-dev list it is argued that the Python include directory is not a
standard place for headers.

This amazes me, because the first 100-150 lines of distutils/command/install.py
spell out the default install directories for different type of files; and header
files are supposed to be installed in the Python include directory.

Deviating from the standard is a bad idea, because it means that the programmer
who wants to read the headers has to remember that they are in a strange place
(much more annoying than fixing a setup.py script or other installation tool).

I understand that some people cannot write to the Python include directory,
but distutils can take care of that in principle, see
http://python.org/doc/2.4.2/inst/search-path.html

The same technique works (in principle) also for header files (admittedly, there
are some quirks).  IMO, it is better to fix the quirks to improve distutils
instead of breaking the distutils policies which are meant to facilitate life.


Regards -- Gerard

PS: I like to point out that the Python Imaging Library, PyGame and sip (the
interface generator for PyQt) also put their headers in the standard place.

wxPython is part of a heavy-weight package which is not using distutils and installs
everything in its own directory (I dislike the big-package policy, but that is life).