type DistutilsOptionError

              object --+            
                       |            
exceptions.BaseException --+        
                           |        
        exceptions.Exception --+    
                               |    
                  DistutilsError --+
                                   |
                                  DistutilsOptionError

Syntactic/semantic errors in command options, such as use of mutually conflicting options, or inconsistent options, badly-spelled values, etc. No distinction is made between option values originating in the setup script, the command line, config files, or what-have-you -- but if we *know* something originated in the setup script, we'll raise DistutilsSetupError instead.