[tor-bugs] #26967 [Core Tor/Stem]: Drop distutils dependency

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#26967: Drop distutils dependency
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     Reporter:  atagar         |      Owner:  atagar
         Type:  defect         |     Status:  new
     Priority:  High           |  Milestone:
    Component:  Core Tor/Stem  |    Version:
     Severity:  Normal         |   Keywords:
Actual Points:                 |  Parent ID:
       Points:                 |   Reviewer:
      Sponsor:                 |
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 Stem uses distutils in a couple spots...

   * stem.util.system's is_available() function uses it to check if
 executables are available on the path.

   * setup.py uses it for installation.

 Python now says distutils is being 'phased out'...

 https://docs.python.org/3/distributing/index.html#distributing-index

 I'm not spotting a clear statement on if it's been removed from the
 standard library nor which version that took place, but regardless seems
 it's gone. In Debian/Ubuntu distutils now resides in its own package...

 https://packages.debian.org/sid/python3-distutils

 That's fine. Our util's usage of it is easy to replace. As for the
 setup.py I'm gonna leave that alone until we drop Python 2.x support.
 Upstream python might claim distutils is obsolete, but their failure to
 backport a replacement like setuptools to the 2.x builtins means it's
 still the best choice for something available by default.

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Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/26967>
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