[Python-Dev] Fwd: Broken link to download (Mac OS X)

[Zvezdan Petkovic]

On Apr 14, 2010, at 4:40 PM, Martin v. Löwis wrote:

>> I think you just need to supply to configure
>> 
>> MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=10.4
>> 
>> and have the appropriate SDK installed with Xcode.
> 
> Wouldn't that break 10.3 compatibility (seel below)?


I was replying to your point about 10.4 build.
Naturally, if you want a 10.3 build you'd pass 10.3 as the target and would have to have appropriate Xcode SDK installed.


>>> Unfortunately, Apple manages to break compatibility and portability
>>> with every release, which makes this particular build task soooo
>>> tricky. You have to make all kinds of decisions and compromises
>>> where are really difficult to keep track of.
>> 
>> 
>> Hmm.  Apple provided compatibility SDK and documented it.
>> 
>> The only compromise I see in this build process right now is that we
>> are building a Panther (10.3) compatible installer, while Mac OS X is
>> a certified UNIX starting with 10.5.
> 
> I think there are more issues. People want a fat binary that supports
> AMD64 along with x86, yet building such a binary requires an SDK that
> won't support PPC anymore - right?

Yes.

x86_64, i386, and ppc are supported even in the Xcode supplied with the latest Mac OS X 10.6.  Only ppc64 is not.  So, ppc is not an issue.

The problem is that enforcing backward compatibility with 10.3 and 10.4 makes 64-bit Intel architecture not feasible.

You are right, it is a compromise.
We are making more users happy by providing a 32-bit installer for a wider range of OS releases.

However, if we want a more modern certified UNIX, 64-bit installer, then we'll have to draw a line and stop supporting older OS releases.

Just as we stop supporting older releases of Python.

Regards,

	Zvezdan