Python package installation from python/sdist/ broken

[dweindl]

Only the development installation with pip -e or via sdist works. This is due to the symlink to README.md. Needs to be cleaned up somehow.

[dweindl]

Without this being addressed, Python package installations from the github repository won't work for Windows users. (Does not affect installation of source distributions created elsewhere.)

[dweindl]

Fixing this also for Windows users is a bit tricky. Problem is that Python setuptools expects the same directory structure in the repository as we want to have in the installation directory. This is no problem for Python-only projects, but causes trouble here if we want to separate the different interfaces. Same problem with the current implementation of enscons.

Options:

1. keeping things as they are (symlinks to create required python package structure)

• ++ separation of interfaces
• ++ supports editable installation
• -- won't work for windows (EDIT: Just noticed that Windows can meanwhile handle symlinks, so this option looks most attractive)

2. creating the required directory structure from cmake in a temporary directory

• ++ separation of interfaces
• ++ works for windows
• -- requires cmake (minor)
• -- breaks editable pip installation

3. rearrange directory structure for setuptools

• ++ works on windows
• ++ supports editable installation
• -- is a big mess, no separation of interfaces

4. modifying setuptools or enscons behaviour to allow specifying destination of files in package

• -- lot's of work
• -- breaks editable pip installation

Any ideas who to handle that in a nicer way?

[paulstapor]

What do you precisely mean by "separation of interfaces"?

[dweindl]

What do you precisely mean by "separation of interfaces"?

Keeping the C++/Matlab/Python/.. files in separate folders instead of pressing everything in a shape working for Python setuptools.

[dweindl]

Update: The problem is not only the readme symlink which would be easy to fix, but it applies to many other files, especially everything below ThirdParty/.

This is intended behavior of pip. So "wontfix". The way to go is via sdist.

[dweindl]

Actually cd python/sdist && python setup.py install works, only cd python/sdist && pip install . fails.