Under Unix, there are two ways to perform an alternate installation. The ``prefix scheme'' is similar to how alternate installation works under Windows and Mac OS, but is not necessarily the most useful way to maintain a personal Python library. Hence, we document the more convenient and commonly useful ``home scheme'' first.
The idea behind the ``home scheme'' is that you build and maintain a personal stash of Python modules, probably under your home directory. Installing a new module distribution is as simple as
python setup.py install --home=<dir>
); the
install
command will expand this to your home directory:
python setup.py install --home=~
The --home option defines the installation base directory. Files are installed to the following directories under the installation base as follows:
Type of file | Installation Directory | Override option |
---|---|---|
pure module distribution | home/lib/python | --install-purelib |
non-pure module distribution | home/lib/python | --install-platlib |
scripts | home/bin | --install-scripts |
data | home/share | --install-data |