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How to find where data files are installed for my Python program (was: Function for the path of the script?)

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Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> writes:

> It's very common to want to know what directory you're in - it's a
> good way to find data files.

That's a naive way to do it (though it's often good enough, for a
program only used on one system).

For programs intending to be used across many systems, the data files
often shouldn't be placed in the same directory as the program.

On systems conforming to the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, it's
forbidden: programs go in a platform-specific location
<URL:http://refspecs.linuxfoundation.org/FHS_2.3/fhs-2.3.html#USRLIBLIBRARIESFORPROGRAMMINGANDPA>,
while platform-independent data files go in a separate location
<URL:http://refspecs.linuxfoundation.org/FHS_2.3/fhs-2.3.html#USRSHAREARCHITECTUREINDEPENDENTDATA>.

The ‘package_data’ feature of Distutils (originally from Setuptools)
<URL:http://docs.python.org/2/distutils/setupscript.html#installing-package-data>
doesn't help with this. The specified files are simply installed in a
subdirectory of the platform-specific program location, which violates
the FHS as described above.

So, what facility is there in Python to:

* allow the operating system to set separate installation locations for
  the program versus the data files; and

* allow the program to interrogate the operating system for where its
  data files are installed

in a way that lets the programmer ignore the specifics of each operating
system, while leaving it up to the system administrator to decide to
place data files separate from program files at install time?

-- 
 \         “I still have my Christmas Tree. I looked at it today. Sure |
  `\               enough, I couldn't see any forests.” —Steven Wright |
_o__)                                                                  |
Ben Finney

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Thread

Function for the path of the script? Peter Cacioppi <peter.cacioppi@gmail.com> - 2013-10-26 19:23 -0700
  Re: Function for the path of the script? Skip Montanaro <skip.montanaro@gmail.com> - 2013-10-26 21:42 -0500
  Re: Function for the path of the script? Gary Herron <gary.herron@islandtraining.com> - 2013-10-26 19:52 -0700
  Re: Function for the path of the script? Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-10-27 14:01 +1100
    Re: Function for the path of the script? Grant Edwards <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2013-10-28 14:49 +0000
      Re: Function for the path of the script? Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-10-29 01:59 +1100
      Re: Function for the path of the script? rurpy@yahoo.com - 2013-10-28 21:00 -0700
        Re: Function for the path of the script? Steven D'Aprano <steve@pearwood.info> - 2013-10-29 05:27 +0000
          Re: Function for the path of the script? Grant Edwards <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2013-10-29 14:31 +0000
  Re: Function for the path of the script? Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-10-27 03:42 +0000
  Re: Function for the path of the script? Ben Finney <ben+python@benfinney.id.au> - 2013-10-27 15:10 +1100
    Re: Function for the path of the script? Roy Smith <roy@panix.com> - 2013-10-27 09:38 -0400
    Re: Function for the path of the script? Grant Edwards <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2013-10-28 14:58 +0000
      Re: Function for the path of the script? Ben Finney <ben+python@benfinney.id.au> - 2013-10-29 09:50 +1100
        Re: Function for the path of the script? Grant Edwards <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2013-10-29 14:26 +0000
  How to find where data files are installed for my Python program (was: Function for the path of the script?) Ben Finney <ben+python@benfinney.id.au> - 2013-10-27 15:28 +1100
    Re: How to find where data files are installed for my Python program (was: Function for the path of the script?) rurpy@yahoo.com - 2013-10-26 22:18 -0700
    Re: How to find where data files are installed for my Python program Gregory Ewing <greg.ewing@canterbury.ac.nz> - 2013-10-27 20:58 +1300
      Re: How to find where data files are installed for my Python program Ian Kelly <ian.g.kelly@gmail.com> - 2013-10-27 09:50 -0600
      Re: How to find where data files are installed for my Python program Ben Finney <ben+python@benfinney.id.au> - 2013-10-28 10:13 +1100
      Re: How to find where data files are installed for my Python program Ben Finney <ben+python@benfinney.id.au> - 2013-10-28 10:31 +1100
      Re: How to find where data files are installed for my Python program Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-10-28 10:58 +1100
      Re: How to find where data files are installed for my Python program Mark Lawrence <breamoreboy@yahoo.co.uk> - 2013-10-28 00:34 +0000
      Re: How to find where data files are installed for my Python program Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-10-28 17:51 +1100
        Re: How to find where data files are installed for my Python program Roy Smith <roy@panix.com> - 2013-10-28 08:51 -0400
          Re: How to find where data files are installed for my Python program Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-10-29 00:06 +1100
  Re: How to find where data files are installed for my Python program (was: Function for the path of the script?) Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-10-27 16:49 +1100
  Re: Function for the path of the script? Peter Cacioppi <peter.cacioppi@gmail.com> - 2013-10-28 15:57 -0700
  Re: Function for the path of the script? Peter Cacioppi <peter.cacioppi@gmail.com> - 2013-10-28 22:56 -0700

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