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

[Paul Rudin]

Paul Moore <p.f.moore at gmail.com> writes:

> On 14 April 2010 07:37, Paul Rudin <paul at rudin.co.uk> wrote:
>> "Martin v. Löwis" <martin at v.loewis.de> writes:
>>
>>> 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).
>>
>> JOOI why ignore the express versions of the MS compilers? All (I think)
>> MS compilers are available for free in command line versions - it's the
>> GUI tools you pay for.
>
> I believe that the express editions don't include some of the advanced
> optimisations (profile guided optimisation rings a bell) which are
> used to build the official binaries. So if the binaries were built
> using Express Edition, they would be somewhat slower.
>
> That is just my recollection, however - it may be out of date or wrong.
> Paul.

I could be wrong too. However I think I had two things confused (it's
been a while since I've done any windows development). There are two
different suites of free compilers from MS. There's the windows sdk,
which includes a command line toolchain and the express edition of VS
which (essentially) is a cut down version of the commercial version of
VS.


Some info about the windows sdk versions is here
<http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dd146047.aspx> and about 
versions - including Express - here (at least for VC++)
<http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hs24szh9%28VS.90%29.aspx>
although that's a little old.