If the defect was with the script, the failure to bypass the '\' notation would have to be true on Redhat Linux. Since build.conf with '\' notation gets parsed without errors on Redhat Linux, I am under the impression the parsing performed by Python on Win32 recognizes '\' as a legitimate file token resulting in the script to fail.

In summary, I view semantics of '\' being different in Win32 vs. Linux as an inconsistency and hence thought it to be a possible defect in Python. However, if Python scripts do not guarantee platform independence, i.e, one's scripts need to be cognizant of platform idiosyncrasy, then, I believe it is not a bug in Python.