python bindings on ubuntu/debian

[Ian Smith-Heisters]

Hi folks,

I'm trying to take a stab at some custom scripts using the python
bindings. I've written a bunch of stuff that plays directly with the
XML, but I want my code to leverage the C API so that it's more
future-proof and I can perform write functions safely.

I'm stuck at square one: export
PYTHONPATH=$PYTHONPATH:/export/gnucash/lib/python2.5/site-packages

I've installed GnuCash from the Ubuntu 8.10 repo, and it doesn't seem
to come with the python bindings. I downloaded the package source, and
debian/rules does have --enable-python-bindings, so I'm confused why I
can't find them. Furthermore, I can't find any directories like
src/optional/python-bindings in the package source. Indeed, that
directory doesn't even exist in the pristine source from gnucash.org.

Can anyone provide me with up-to-date instructions for getting off the
ground with this? Are the python bindings still available? Is this
endemic to Ubuntu/Debian?

Thanks,
Ian