[Python-ideas] Update the required C compiler for Windows to a supported version.

Vernon D. Cole vernondcole at gmail.com
Wed Nov 27 15:03:52 CET 2013


Before anyone starts flaming me about "off topic" -- I already know that my
suggestion is going to be different from what is usually discussed on this
group.  I may not write often, but I am a faithful reader (a.k.a. lurker).
Please bear with me.  I am not aware of any other place where what I am
about to say is _on_ topic.  ...

Yesterday, I set out to try installing a medium-size django application on
Windows. It did not go well.  It is now 24 hours later -- and I have tried
many things.  The problem was that "pip" needed to compile a module.  There
was no C compiler on the machine.  After 24 hours of web searching and
trying many things, I have come to the following conclusion:  I cannot
compile a Python extension module with any Microsoft compiler I can obtain.

  My new Windows 8.1 computer is running Visual Studio 2013 -- which would
be fine if I wanted to compile my own Python interpreter, I suppose.  I
spent most of the day trying to find a working Visual Studio 2008 or C++
7.1 compiler.  The only things I could find to download were patches for
Visual Studio 2010. I tried several variations to install it on my old
Windows 7 laptop -- all to no avail.

May I humbly suggest that Python 3.4 be released using  Microsoft Visual
Studio Express 2013 for Windows
Desktop<http://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/downloads>,
a (free) compiler which will actually run on the current version of
Windows?

That's the Python Idea that I am requesting.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-ideas/attachments/20131127/ab75e67b/attachment.html>


More information about the Python-ideas mailing list