[SciPy-user] Q: Building SciPy for Windows without Cygwindependency?

[Albert Strasheim]

Hello all

> -----Original Message-----
> From: scipy-user-bounces at scipy.org [mailto:scipy-user-bounces at scipy.org]
> On Behalf Of Kyle Ferrio
> Sent: 01 October 2006 00:34
> To: SciPy Users
> Subject: [SciPy-user] Q: Building SciPy for Windows without
> Cygwindependency?
> 
> I want to build a full-up SciPy for MS Windows in line with the Python
> and SciPy licenses.

Are you planning to do this with MinGW or with the Microsoft compiler?

> I noticed the following text in the excellent installation instructions,
> regarding the choice of compiler:
> 
>    "Cygwin is required if you want to build ATLAS yourself."
> 
> Well, I often build ATLAS myself.  And now (implicitly) I want to build
> ATLAS in a way that is available to SciPy.
> 
> So I have two questions:
> 
> 1. Must ATLAS -- to be used with SciPy -- be built with a dependence on
> the GPL'ed Cygwin runtime library?
>    (I can't imagine why this would be the case, but I want to test my
> understanding.)

I've built ATLAS 3.7.11 under Cygwin, AFAIR, this produced a static library
that is not linked to the Cygwin runtime.

> 2. Is the "need" for Cygwin actually just a way to get (extremely
> convenient) tools like 'ar' which do not infect the ATLAS lib with the
> GPL?

The need for Cygwin is a requirement of ATLAS's build system, parts of which
are written in C and have a very Unix-centric view of the world.

Regards,

Albert