[Python-Dev] Packaging and binary distributions for Python 3.3

[Tim Golden]

On 13/10/2011 19:36, Paul Moore wrote:
> I don't really understand the benefits of bdist_msi over
> bdist_wininst

Just commenting on this particular issue: in essence, the .MSI
format is the Microsoft standard, something which is especially
important for corporate rollouts. We're not particularly bureaucratic,
but I recently had to bundle a small number of common extensions as
.msi packages so they could be deployed easily onto our baseline
machines.

I'm not saying that Python *must* have .msi support for this reason:
if it didn't already, you could argue that it could be provided by
corporates who needed this, or by 3rd party service providers, if
only by providing light .msi wrappers round standard installers.

I'm completely overloaded at the moment, so I'm only following this
thread at a distance but I did want to chime in in agreement with
the points Paul's already made: Windows users expect executable
binary installers; it's much harder to compile libraries on Windows
even if you have a compiler; the integration with the OS package
manager (Add/Remove Programs) is a benefit although not a sine qua non.


TJG