On Wed, Dec 22, 2010 at 7:57 PM, Tim Roberts <ti...@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 -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
