[New-bugs-announce] [issue30186] Python interpreter calling "PathCchCombineEx" on startup, Windows 8 and above only

[Sebastian Ernst]

New submission from Sebastian Ernst:

I am investigating a bug in Wine:
https://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=42474

The Python 3.6(.1) interpreter fails to start on Wine because of an unimplemented function in Wine: "api-ms-win-core-path-l1-1-0.dll.PathCchCombineEx". 

While the missing function is clearly a problem in Wine, the fact that PathCchCombineEx is called in the first place is somewhat odd. The call was added to Python 3.6 on 09 Sep 2016 by Steve Dower of Microsoft:
https://hg.python.org/cpython/rev/03517dd54977
Logically, Python 3.5.x and prior do not require this call and work flawlessly under Wine. 

Digging deeper into this, I found that PathCchCombineEx was introduced in Windows 8:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/hh707086(v=vs.85).aspx

However, the following page states, that the current version of Python (3.6) should support Windows Vista and 7:
https://docs.python.org/3/using/windows.html

I am seeking clarification on why PathCchCombineEx is called during the Python interpreter startup although Wine pretends to be Windows 7 and although Python should support Windows Vista & 7. My thinking is that this call might also happen on an actual Windows 7 system under some circumstances and break Python there as well, which would make it a bug in Python.

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components: Interpreter Core, Windows
messages: 292430
nosy: paul.moore, smernst, steve.dower, tim.golden, zach.ware
priority: normal
severity: normal
status: open
title: Python interpreter calling "PathCchCombineEx" on startup, Windows 8 and above only
type: behavior
versions: Python 3.6

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Python tracker <report at bugs.python.org>
<http://bugs.python.org/issue30186>
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