Re: [Pysparse-users] Pysparse installation problems

[Dominique O. <dom...@gm...>]

On Wed, Mar 24, 2010 at 5:24 PM, Rob Speer <rs...@mi...> wrote:
>>> 2. Pysparse won't install in a virtualenv. It tries to install files
>>> in the include/ directory of your Python environment, but virtualenvs
>>> don't have their own include directory. They just symlink to the
>>> system-wide one.
>>>
>>> I don't know what the correct way to resolve this one is, because I've
>>> never had to manage additional include files in a Python package.
>>
>> Rob,
>>
>> Thanks for the feedback. #1 has been on my list for a long time but
>> never gets adressed because time is scarce. I really want to have a
>> proper setup.py for Pysparse. I'm now getting better at writing them
>> so maybe I can whip up something quick.
>>
>> Regarding #2, could you be more specific? In my experience,
>> package-specific include files always go to the include/ directory of
>> the local Python environment. However, you can normally install
>> packages "locally" (e.g., in your home directory) instead of system
>> wide, by using an option such as --prefix or --home with setup.py. I
>> might have misunderstood your question...
>
> Responding to this part now: does your local Python environment
> actually have its own include/ directory? Because my virtualenv just
> has a symbolic link to the Python global one. This means that
> installing pysparse in a virtualenv requires permission to modify the
> global Python include directory, and it does so.

No my virtual environment doesn't have its own include dir. All it has
is a symlink to the system include dir. This looks like a defect of
virtualenv, really.

The pysparse header files are now installed under pysparse/include in
the lib/pythonX.Y directory. So this doesn't cause permission issues
with virtual environments anymore. I also added a convenience function
for packages that rely on pysparse:

>>> import pysparse
>>> pysparse.get_include()

Let me know how that goes.

-- 
Dominique