[Python-Dev] Preventing 1.5 extensions crashing under 1.6/2.0 Python

[Mark Hammond]

[/F]
> > huh?  are you seriously proposing to break every single C extension
> > ever written -- on each and every platform -- just to trap an error
> > message caused by extensions linked against 1.5.2 on your favourite
> > platform?

[Barry]
> 	What makes you think that a crash will not happen under Unix
> 	when you change the API? You just don't get the Windows crash.
>
> 	As this thread has pointed out you have no intention of checking
> 	for binary compatibility on the API as you move up versions.

I imtimated the following, but did not spell it out, so I will here to
clarify.

I was -1 on Barry's solution getting into 1.6, given the time frame.  I
hinted that the solution Guido recently checked in "if
(!Py_IsInitialized()) ..." would not be too great an impact even if Barry's
solution, or one like it, was eventually adopted.

So I think that the adoption of our half-solution (ie, we are really only
forcing a better error message - not even getting a traceback to indicate
_which_ module fails) need not preclude a better solution when we have more
time to implement it...

Mark.