[Python-Dev] Building Python with CMake

[Giovanni Bajo]

On 13/07/2007 20.53, Facundo Batista wrote:

>> as I wrote in my previous email, I'm currently porting Python to some more
>> unusual platforms, namely to a super computer
>> (http://www.research.ibm.com/bluegene/) and a tiny embedded operating system
>> (http://ecos.sourceware.org), which have more or less surprisingly quite
>> similar properties.
> 
> Sorry, missed the previous mail. Have two questions for you:
> 
> - Why?

Because it would be a single unified build system instead of having two build 
systems like we have one (UNIX and Windows).

Also, it would be much easier to maintain because Visual Studio projects are 
generated from a simple description, while right now if you want to change 
something you need to go through the hassle of defining it within the Visual 
Studio GUI.

Consider for instance if you want to change the Windows build so that a 
builtin module is compiled as an external .pyd instead. Right now, you need to 
go through the hassle of manually defining a new project, setting all the 
include/libraries dependencies correctly, ecc. ecc. With CMake or a similar 
tool, it would be a matter of a couple of textual line changes.

[ I'll also remember that "ease of maintanance for developers" is the #1 
reason for having a 2.1Mb python25.dll under Windows, which I would really 
love to reduce. ]
-- 
Giovanni Bajo