[Python-Dev] Python 2.6 and 3.0 ...and applink.c?

Greg Ewing greg.ewing at canterbury.ac.nz
Wed Mar 5 00:56:04 CET 2008


Bugbee, Larry wrote:
> Is there a reason why Python.exe cannot be built using gcc instead
> of Visual Studio? 
 >
> It seems building everything with gcc would get around the problem 
> of having to match VS versions.

As I understand it, the problem isn't the compiler so much
as the stdio library being used.

As long as there is no single standard C library used by
everyone for all Windows applications, the problem will
exist in one form or another whichever compiler is used.

If the standard Python were build with gcc using the
GNU libc, everyone would be required to compile extensions
against *that* library instead. If it were compiled with
gcc but using one of the Microsoft libraries, the same
situation would exist as before.

The entire mess is all Microsoft's fault for not picking
one version of libc and sticking to it.

-- 
Greg Ewing, Computer Science Dept, +--------------------------------------+
University of Canterbury,	   | Carpe post meridiem!          	  |
Christchurch, New Zealand	   | (I'm not a morning person.)          |
greg.ewing at canterbury.ac.nz	   +--------------------------------------+


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