Incorporating non-python files (config, data etc.) when installing your python library with setuptools

module.py

"""
And here's the easiest way to get that file in modules installed in this way.
"""
import os
import sys

DATAFILE_PATH = os.path.abspath('path_to_something')

setup.py

"""
setuptools doesn't like non-python files and won't install them. Developers sometimes do, and often put them in the correct place where required. This is how to get an example such file, './data/my.data' to be included when you run setup.py. 
"""
from setuptools import setup

setup(
    ...
    data_files=[
      (
        'data',  # the directory in which you want to install the data file, relative to the installation prefix
        ['data/my.data']  # the location of the files to install, relative to setup.py
        )
      ],
    ...
)