On Mon, 19 May 2008, Bill Janssen wrote:

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On Mon, May 19, 2008 at 5:15 PM, Bill Janssen <janssen@parc.com> wrote:

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If you can run a pure Python module that does not depend on any C extension, then that platform has the support needed to run Python.

This is certainly a point of view. One that many end-users wouldn't understand :-).

Perhaps, but it's clear-cut. Is OS X not properly supported because it can't run the _winreg module? I just don't like labeling a platform as unsupported just because ctypes doesn't compile on it.

I assume _winreg runs everywhere Python is said to run, and there's a Windows registry to examine, so I think it's a different kettle of fish. ctypes doesn't run everywhere Python is said to run, and there are dynamic libraries to call into.

I think it would be great if we could get some AIX, HP-UX, and Solaris boxes for Thomas to work on. What would motivate IBM, H-P, and Sun to donate such gear? Perhaps each of the companies have an office somewhere that could help with this resource allocation? For instance, talking to the "AIX Collaboration Center" of IBM (aixcc@us.ibm.com)?

And these are all SYSV derivatives, aren't they? So perhaps it's some common fix for all three?

I just spent a semester in "Advanced Systems Programming in Unix/C", and all we did was port old software to solaris, hpux, irix, and friends (I don't think we used AIX, but I believe he has one running). Most of these were virtual machines, but they adequately represented the annoyances present in their respective architectures. I've cc'd my professor, hopefully he will let me know if there are any tips he has for setting up a VM. -- Cheers, Leif