[Python-Dev] Status of C compilers for Python on Windows

[Zachary Ware]

On Sat, Oct 25, 2014 at 6:24 PM, R. David Murray <rdmurray at bitdance.com> wrote:
> Note: it can be made even less compelling by making it a lot easier to
> build CPython on Windows without having an MSVC license (which I think
> means not using the GUI, for which I say *yay* :).  I think Zach Ware
> has been working on improving the Windows build process, and I keep
> meaning to give it a try...

So far my improvements have been limited to what it takes to build
after installing prerequisites (and documenting what exactly those
prerequisites are), but on that front things are significantly better
in 3.5, I think.  I will note that it's been possible to build Python
entirely without using the VS GUI (though it still has to be
installed, I think) for quite some time, but hasn't been especially
easy to remember the incantations to do so.  3.5 now has a fairly nice
set of batch scripts (I think; but I (re)wrote them :) that work well
together and are even documented in the PCbuild readme.  I've had
dreams of a set of configure.bat/make.bat scripts (issue16895) to make
things even simpler, but I've put that on hold until after Steve
Dower's major overhaul for VC14 has happened.

One thing I'd like to look into more eventually is seeing what it
would take to build with only the Windows SDK installed (which is free
and has no GUI at all), but I think Steve has mentioned something
about that in connection with the work he's doing -- either way,
things will be different when we switch to VC14 so I'm also putting
that off.

-- 
Zach