OK, so we’re in mid-2021, why is installing Python THAT HARD? I think the only reason Node is so popular is because it JUST WORKS. Windows, Mac, doesn’t matter. One-click installer and you got NPM as well and access to thousands of packages.
I've also had to use nvm to install an old version of NPM for a specific project because otherwise one of the NPM dependencies couldn't compile a certain C++ executable that I apparently needed? There was also an incompatibility with some binary that another dependency downloaded that required me to mess with soft links to libraries in specific places.
I don't think either NPM or PIP are inherently hard to use as long as you keep them updated (which is exactly what the parent comment is suggesting to do) and as long as you don't need binary dependencies. When you end up in binary territory, which this type of software eventually will, you'll run head-first into stuff that requires arcane commands to get stuff to run.
It's ultimately just a matter of experience I guess
Python’s ecosystem is the worst for get-up-and-go usage.
Nvm or nodenv make managing node environments trivial compared to virtualenv, pip, and co. Same with rustup or rbenv… in fact python is the only language i have the problem with.
i can't be arsed to deal with all the various version dependencies and incompatabilities and system install vs local install nonsense that comes with installing it on my actual computer.