RE: [xml] python bindings on windows

["Stephane Bidoul" <stephane bidoul softwareag com>]

Igor,

> What I don't quite understand: Why does setup.py in libxml 
> require and 
> handle libxslt? Libxml can very well be used without libxslt 
> and so can its 
> python bindings be used without those of libxslt, no?

It's for easier packaging. However if libxslt files is not present
in gnome-xml/python, setup.py will not attempt to create 
the libxslt binding (I have not tested that very much, though).
 
> Also, why does the same setup.py handle iconv.dll? Iconv has 
> nothing to do 
> with libxml. It is a separate piece of software and it is up 
> to the end user 
> to decide wether and how to install that.

Following the same logic, one could say that libxml2.dll and
libxslt.dll are separate pieces of software, living more or
less independently of the python bindings. 

That's why I put the WITHDLLS option in setup.py. 
If WITHDLLS is true (the default) libxml2.dll,
libxslt.dll and iconv.dll are put in the same package as the 
python bindings, so you get a nice standalone package for
the bindings with all their dependencies. 

However, if WITHDLLS is false, the package for the python bindings
does not include the libxml dlls nor iconv.dll (just like on unix)
and the user must install those separately. 

I think that WITHDLLS=1 is not only easier but 
really safer (it avoids version conflicts),
but in specific situations, you can still use WITHDLLS=0.

-sbi