[Python-Dev] Re: buildin vs. shared modules

[Martin v. Löwis]

Thomas Heller <theller at python.net> writes:

> VC7 can convert VC6 workspace and project files into its own format,
> but there is no way back.  You cannot use VC7 files (they are called
> solution instead of workspace) in VC6 anymore.  MvL suggested to convert
> the files once and then deprecate using the VC6 workspace.

Indeed: Conversion works fairly well, but we (as python-devers) should
agree on using a single compiler - otherwise, conflicting changes will
occur. So I propose to actually move the VC6 project files elsewhere;
anybody who wants to continue to use them would need to copy them back.

I could implement that very quickly; I just need agreement that we
should do so. We would also need agreement on whether to use VC7
(Studio .NET) or VC 7.1 (Studio .NET 2003); I propose to use the
latter.

> MvL again has the idea to create the msi (which is basically a database)
> programmatically with Python - either via COM, a custom Python extension
> or maybe ctypes.

I haven't made much progress with that, though. Initially I plan to
use the MSI COM interface, and I'm fairly certain that this can be
done, but it also takes some effort.

On the plus side, anybody could then do the packaging - you would only
need PythonWin installed. That requirement could be dropped by using
the C API to installer. To build necessary extension module, you would
need to have the Installer SDK installed (which comes with the
platform SDK); I haven't checked whether VC 7.1 ships with the
necessary libraries (in which case there would be no additional
prerequisites).

Regards,
Martin