Python packages typically are configured and installed through the use
of the distutils module or one of its derivatives. The user
performs necessary actions via a Python script called
setup.py. For simple programs, this is
straight-forward. However, for more complex software packages,
especially for those which also include code in other languages such
as C or Fortran, the limitations of the distutils method
quickly become apparent.
The configuration and installation of GNU software and many other programs, on the other hand, is done according to the use of standard configure scripts and Make recipes. This method has the advantage of being language-agnostic, very flexible, and time-proven. pyconfigure consists of all the files necessary to begin using the standard GNU build process to configure and install a Python package.