Why is Python 2.7 installed at root, unlike most programs today?

Question

Apologies for a likely stupid question, but no amount of Googling or searching here for my query could get me anywhere.

Just having issues with root installations lead me to wonder WHY Python 2.7 is naturally set up in the root directory of Windows, when everything else is in ProgramFiles?

Is there a simple answer for this I'm missing?

Answer 1

Comments in this bug explain that the main problem is the space in “Program Files”.

A long time ago, Python did install (by default) under "Program Files". I changed that, because of the endless problems created by the frickin' embedded space, and rarer but subtler problems due to "Program Files" not being a DOSish 8.3 name. Overall I still think it was a good change.

Note that, unlike most Windows applications (which are GUI-based), programming languages are intended to be used heavily from the command line, invoked by scripts, and so on. That's what makes a space in the path endlessly error-prone. In WinXP Pro, I noticed that MS was still careful to put its own command-line/script tools (sort.exe, ipconfig.exe, cscript.exe, ..., even notepad.exe) under pure DOSish 8.3 space-free paths ;-)

— Tim Peters