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

[Paul Moore]

On 29 October 2014 23:49, Steve Dower <Steve.Dower at microsoft.com> wrote:
> "For the paid versions, I'm going to assume that anyone who paid for a
> compiler and doesn't know where their copy is, probably can't be
> helped ;-)"
>
> You could link to visualstudio.com for the trial versions, and maybe to a
> page/post about the PSF's grants process if such a page exists.

That doesn't help for VS 2010 and VS 2008, which are the relevant ones
right now, unfortunately. In thew brave new world of Python 3.5+ that
might well do, though. (Although the feedback from Unix users is that
they really want a direct link to the exact edition they need - i.e.,
a permalink to VC++ Express Edition <latest> for Python 3.5+. I'm not
sure how well the MS website structure does that, though.

> "And of course there's the awkward problem that VS 2010 Express is
> unsupported and therefore no longer available from *any* official
> location. I can't solve that, sadly"
>
> These are still at
> http://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/downloads/download-visual-studio-vs#DownloadFamilies_4,
> which is the main download page. Hopefully they don't go away before 3.5,
> but I have no control over that unfortunately.

Wow! I didn't know that. That's great, solves the biggest issue I had.

> The link I posted for 2.7 was aka.ms/vcpython27, which is a redirect that I
> own and can update if necessary.

Cool. As long as it's stable and reliable, it's exactly what I want.

Many thanks,
Paul