Compiling Python (modules) on 64bit Windows - which compiler suite?

[Stefan Behnel]

Thomas Bach, 21.03.2012 20:03:
> Ralph Heinkel writes:
>> when processing our mass spectrometry data we are running against the
>> 2GB memory limit on our 32 bit machines. So we are planning to move to
>> 64bit. Downloading and installing the 64bit version of Python for
>> Windows is trivial, but how do we compile our own C extension? 
> 
> What about installing Cygwin and using the shipped GCC?

I'm pretty sure it doesn't cross compile to native Windows. It certainly
won't build against a native Windows Python installation, and given the
overhead that cygwin induces into a lot of common OS operations (such as
fork(), I/O operations or file system access), a native Windows Python
installation has serious advantages in most cases.

If the choice is GCC, then MinGW is the right tool.

Stefan