[Pythonmac-SIG] Mac OS X compilers and Python 2.1

[Jack Jansen]

Recently, Corran Webster <cwebster@nevada.edu> said:
> Does anyone here know if it is possible to get the developer tools 
> (such as gcc or Project Builder - which is basically an IDE for gcc, 
> as far as I can see) supplied by Apple for OS X to compile power PC 
> shared libraries like the ones currently used by MacPython?

Steve is the guru in this area, but I'm pretty convinced that this won't
work. Gcc and friends use the Mach-O executable format, while
MacPython uses CFM. And while bridging between the two is possible it
would probably be fearsomely difficult for Python extensions, as they
have oodles of callback back into the core Python code.

MacPython is stuck with CFM for the time being because it's the only
format supported on both OS9 and OSX.

But there's been some work done on "porting" the MacPython-specific
modules to unix-Python (or, in other words, the gcc/Mach-O tools), so
it may well be feasible to have two Pythons for the Mac with similar
functionality, where one is binary compatible with OS9 and the other
is more unix-based.
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