[Pythonmac-SIG] Re: Pythonmac-SIG digest, Vol 1 #929 - 12 msgs

[Martin Miller]

On Thu, 20 Dec 2001 15:27:48 Donovan Preston wrote:
> >On Thursday, December 20, 2001, at 12:59 PM, Jack Jansen wrote:
> >
> > Recently, Donovan Preston <dp@ulaluma.com> said:
> > [ discussion of loading code in CFM/PEF libraries from MachoPython ]
> 
> > This isn't worth it. We discussed it about a year ago (both here and
> > on the GUSI list) and by getting the BSD sockets you would also get
> > (unless you do major surgery) all the rest of glibc, so you would get
> > Unix filenames, Sioux would go down the drain, etc.
> 
> I think there's a bit of confusion as to why one would still want to 
> load code from a CFM library EVEN on MachoPython. Of course, if a Mach-O 
> library is available it should be used. However, there will be occasions 
> where a Mach-O library will not be available.
> 
> Probably the most obvious example would be closed-source VST plugins. If 
> the plugin author even bothers to relink the plugin with Carbon, it will 
> most definitely be as a CFM library, not a Mach-O library. Thus the 
> necessity of loading and running code in a CFM library from a Mach-O 
> binary.
> 
> It sounds like Jeff Harmon is also in a similar situation where he 
> already has a bunch of CFM libraries that he doesn't want to have to 
> recompile as Mach-O to get working with MachoPython. As I was saying, it 
> is technically possible and has been discussed on the Carbon-dev mailing 
> list.
> 
> Just thought I'd try to clear things up a little bit.
> 
> p.s. MachoPython -- heh heh. Village people references aside, It'll do 
> as a temporary name until CFM MacPython on OS X dies a horrible death.
> 
> Donovan

(Sorry about the subject line, but I hesitate to change it now.)

Hi, my name is Martin and I work with Jeff at Adobe. I would like to try
clarify the situation we are in.

Donovan is right on target with his comments above with respect to how
we would like to use Python on the Mac. I cannot be specific, but
essentially we have a body of CFM libraries, which must stay in that
format, that we would like to access as Python extensions on OS X (from
both single and multi-processor equipped systems).

Being unable to do this could force us to abandon the use of Python
altogether for this particular use and project -- which would make a
number of us, shall we say, unhappy. Unfortunately, we just don't have
the resources needed available to try fix it ourselves at this point.

Donovan wrote:
> ...until CFM MacPython on OS X dies a horrible death.

This especially concerns me because it sounds like the problem will
never be solved, even if we could wait a while for the GUSI
multi-tasking problem be worked out. Guess there really is "no such
thing as a free lunch." ;-)

Best regards,
Martin