In the next three sections, we will learn how to prepare Maya to use third-party modules. We will learn how Python's site directories work, create a site directory for Maya, and hook up the new site directory so third-party modules are available in Maya.

Before starting, I must make a disclaimer: there are no established conventions for setting up Maya to use third-party modules. In this book I present what I think is a middle ground between correctness and complexity. If you are comfortable with Python package management systems and virtual environments, you can take a more complex but also more correct approach. If you are just starting out and don't even feel comfortable with what's presented here, you can also place third-party modules into your development root and sidestep the entire issue of segregating third-party and first-party code.

The most important thing, in my opinion, is that you are reusing code from others, and not wasting...