Currently we have this:

http://docs.python.org/install/#location-and-names-of-config-files

The distutils config file can have one of four different names depending
on which platform and which location.  This makes it harder for people
to remember the file's name and location, and more complicated for
programs that want to detect it.  Why not give it the same name on both
platforms and all locations?

I was spurred to write this ticket today because of a conversation with
J.P. Calderone:

<exarkun> but, I have no clue where distutils.cfg goes on Windows

The mac/win difference is with the starting dot because it's impossible
under windows to name a file under the directory browser UI that starts
with a ".". You have to be a power-user to do so. (pydistutils.cfg
versus .pydistutils.cfg)

Now for pydistutils.cfg  vs distutils.cfg I don't know why it's like
that. It should be "distutils.cfg" everywhere imho. Even if the global
and local one are eventually merged. I'll launch a thread about it on
distutils-sig.

Next, setup.cfg is for the current directory because this how you
operate with packages that have setup.py+setup.cfg files : you chdir in
the directory then run a distutils command.

Last, under windows, it should use os.path.expanduser('~') instead of
looking for a HOME variable. this will be fix in any case.

Let me add that os.path.expanduser is the Right Way™ to get a user’s home directory on POSIX too, since not every setup has a $HOME envvar or a /etc/passwd file. The only interface one should use is the pwd module (or  getent in shell scripts), and so does os.path.expanduser.

Reassigning to Distutils2.

Regards

Re-adding distutils because of the $HOME vs. os.path.expanduser fix.

Too late to change this in distutils now.