[Python-Dev] Fwd: Broken link to download (Mac OS X)

["Martin v. Löwis"]

>> In a wider sense of "to support", MacOS is certainly supported by
>> Python. There is everything in the source code that you need to make
>> Python run on a Mac. Just download the sources and compile them yourself.
>>
> And yet we don't regard the Windows release as complete until you have
> built the binaries (for which service you deserve many thanks, by the way).

This phenomenon exists for a lot of other systems, as well. For example,
we also support Solaris, but stopped providing Solaris binaries since
Python 1.5 (when I last built binaries for Das Python-Buch). People
still can get Solaris binaries from ActiveState or Sunfreeware; Sun also
ships Python as part of the system.

> Is the Mac platform one on which users will be happy to compile from
> source? I know its users are savvier than Windows users, and have a
> better tool set available to them, but they still seem to expect
> downloadable installers.

The major difference in the "do it yourself" attitude is that Mac user
get a compiler for free, as part of the operating system release,
whereas for Windows, they have to pay for it (leaving alone VS Express
for the moment).

However, the real difference is motivation for contribution to open
source projects. You normally contribute to scratch an itch.
Unfortunately, these binaries don't come out such a motiviation. So the
release manager roles are either altruistic, or rely on extrinsic
motivations (money, reputation).

>>> Clearly it's not a priority given that nobody has seen fit to (or had
>>> time to) reply to this mail in three weeks.
>> That is not surprising: none of the webmaster people would be able to
>> answer the question. python-dev is indeed the right place to ask.
>>
> I thought I'd picked this thread off python-dev. What point am I not
> understanding here?

Maybe I misunderstood. I thought you copied it from the webmaster list
(as the original To indicated). I don't recall having it seen on
python-dev, but I kill many messages to python-dev without reading them.

Regards,
Martin