--- a/babel/catalog/frontend.py
+++ b/babel/catalog/frontend.py
@@ -16,10 +16,11 @@
 from ConfigParser import RawConfigParser
 from distutils import log
 from distutils.cmd import Command
-from distutils.errors import DistutilsOptionError
+from distutils.errors import DistutilsOptionError, DistutilsSetupError
 from optparse import OptionParser
 import os
 import re
+from StringIO import StringIO
 import sys
 
 from babel import __version__ as VERSION
@@ -27,7 +28,7 @@
                                   DEFAULT_MAPPING
 from babel.catalog.pofile import write_po
 
-__all__ = ['extract_messages', 'main']
+__all__ = ['extract_messages', 'check_message_extractors', 'main']
 __docformat__ = 'restructuredtext en'
 
 
@@ -112,6 +113,18 @@
                 method_map, options_map = parse_mapping(fileobj)
             finally:
                 fileobj.close()
+        elif self.distribution.message_extractors:
+            message_extractors = self.distribution.message_extractors
+            if isinstance(message_extractors, basestring):
+                method_map, options_map = parse_mapping(StringIO(
+                    message_extractors
+                ))
+            else:
+                method_map = {}
+                options_map = {}
+                for pattern, (method, options) in message_extractors.items():
+                    method_map[pattern] = method
+                    options_map[pattern] = options
         else:
             method_map = DEFAULT_MAPPING
             options_map = {}
@@ -142,6 +155,22 @@
         finally:
             outfile.close()
 
+def check_message_extractors(dist, name, value):
+    """Validate the ``message_extractors`` keyword argument to ``setup()``.
+    
+    :param dist: the distutils/setuptools ``Distribution`` object
+    :param name: the name of the keyword argument (should always be
+                 "message_extractors")
+    :param value: the value of the keyword argument
+    :raise `DistutilsSetupError`: if the value is not valid
+    :see: `Adding setup() arguments
+           <http://peak.telecommunity.com/DevCenter/setuptools#adding-setup-arguments>`_
+    """
+    assert name == 'message_extractors'
+    if not isinstance(value, (basestring, dict)):
+        raise DistutilsSetupError('the value of the "extract_messages" '
+                                  'parameter must be a string or dictionary')
+
 def main(argv=sys.argv):
     """Command-line interface.
     
@@ -234,7 +263,6 @@
 def parse_mapping(fileobj, filename=None):
     """Parse an extraction method mapping from a file-like object.
     
-    >>> from StringIO import StringIO
     >>> buf = StringIO('''
     ... # Python source files
     ... [python: foobar/**.py]

--- a/doc/catalogs.txt
+++ b/doc/catalogs.txt
@@ -140,22 +140,26 @@
 Lines that start with a ``#`` or ``;`` character are ignored and can be used
 for comments. Empty lines are also ignored, too.
 
-
----------------------
-``setup.py`` Commands
----------------------
-
-(TODO: overview)
+.. note:: if you're performing message extraction using the command Babel
+          provides for integration into ``setup.py`` scripts (see below), you
+          can also provide this configuration in a different way, namely as a
+          keyword argument to the ``setup()`` function.
 
-See `Distutils/Setuptools Integration <setup.html>`_ for more information.
 
--------------------
-Command-line script
--------------------
+----------
+Front-Ends
+----------
 
-(TODO: overview)
+Babel provides two different front-ends to access its functionality for working
+with message catalogs:
 
-See `Command-Line Interface <cmdline.html>`_ for more information.
+ * A `Command-line interface <cmdline.html>`_, and
+ * `Integeration with distutils/setuptools <setup.html>`_
+
+Which one you choose depends on the nature of your project. For most modern
+Python projects, the distutils/setuptools integration is probably more
+convenient.
+
 
 --------------------------
 Writing Extraction Methods

--- a/doc/setup.txt
+++ b/doc/setup.txt
@@ -46,19 +46,52 @@
       --help (-h)     show detailed help message
 
     Options for 'extract_messages' command:
-      --charset        charset to use in the output
-      --keywords (-k)  comma-separated list of keywords to look for in addition
-                       to the defaults
-      --no-location    do not write filename/lineno location comments
-      --output-file    filename of the output PO file
+      --charset              charset to use in the output file
+      --keywords (-k)        space-separated list of keywords to look for in
+                             addition to the defaults
+      --no-default-keywords  do not include the default keywords
+      --mapping-file (-F)    path to the mapping configuration file
+      --no-location          do not include location comments with filename and
+                             line number
+      --omit-header          do not include msgid "" entry in header
+      --output-file (-o)     name of the output file
+      --width (-w)           set output line width (default 76)
+      --no-wrap              do not break long message lines, longer than the
+                             output line width, into several lines
 
 Running the command will produce a PO file::
 
-    $ ./setup.py extract_messages --output-file webapp/locales/messages.pot
+    $ ./setup.py extract_messages --output-file foobar/locale/messages.pot
     running extract_messages
-    extracting messages from 'webapp'
-    extracting messages from 'webparts'
-    writing PO file to webapp/locales/messages.pot
+    extracting messages from foobar/__init__.py
+    extracting messages from foobar/core.py
+    ...
+    writing PO file to foobar/locale/messages.pot
+
+
+Method Mapping
+--------------
+
+The mapping of file patterns to extraction methods (and options) can be
+specified using a configuration file that is pointed to using the
+``--mapping-file`` option shown above. Alternatively, you can configure the
+mapping directly in ``setup.py`` using a keyword argument to the ``setup()``
+function:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+    setup(...
+        
+        message_extractors = {
+            'foobar/**.py':                 ('python', None),
+            'foobar/**/templates/**.html':  ('genshi', None),
+            'foobar/**/templates/**.txt':   ('genshi', {
+                'template_class': 'genshi.template.text.TextTemplate'
+            })
+        },
+        
+        ...
+    )
 
 
 Options
@@ -67,14 +100,27 @@
 As shown in the ``--help`` output above, the ``extract_messages`` command
 accepts the following options:
 
-``--charset``
-  The character set / encoding to use in the generated PO file.
-``--keywords``
-  A comma-separated list of keywords (function names) to look for in addition
-  to the default keywords
-``--no-location``
-  If this flag is set, location comments will not be included in the generated
-  PO file.
-``--output-file`` or ``-o``
-  The path to the PO file that should be generated
-
+  +-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
+  | Option                      | Description                                  |
+  +=============================+==============================================+
+  | ``--charset``               | charset to use in the output file            |
+  +-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
+  | ``--keywords`` (``-k``)     | space-separated list of keywords to look for |
+  |                             | in addition to the defaults                  |
+  +-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
+  | ``--no-default-keywords``   | do not include the default keywords          |
+  +-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
+  | ``--mapping-file`` (``-F``) | path to the mapping configuration file       |
+  +-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
+  | ``--no-location``           | do not include location comments with        |
+  |                             | filename and line number                     |
+  +-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
+  | ``--omit-header``           | do not include msgid "" entry in header      |
+  +-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
+  | ``--output-file`` (``-o``)  | name of the output file                      |
+  +-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
+  | ``--width`` (``-w``)        | set output line width (default 76)           |
+  +-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
+  | ``--no-wrap``               | do not break long message lines, longer than |
+  |                             | the output line width, into several lines    |
+  +-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------+

--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -132,6 +132,9 @@
     [distutils.commands]
     extract_messages = babel.catalog.frontend:extract_messages
     
+    [distutils.setup_keywords]
+    message_extractors = babel.catalog.frontend:check_message_extractors
+    
     [babel.extractors]
     genshi = babel.catalog.extract:extract_genshi
     python = babel.catalog.extract:extract_python