[Python-Dev] New Windows installer for Python 3.5

[Nick Coghlan]

On 10 January 2015 at 11:29, Ethan Furman <ethan at stoneleaf.us> wrote:
> On 01/09/2015 05:01 PM, David Anthoff wrote:
>> On 01/09/2015 04:09 PM, Steve Dower wrote:
>
>>> The only reason I hesitate on this is that it could cause significant
>>> confusion for someone who doesn't really understand the implications,
>>> while people like yourself who have thought about this are also capable
>>> of finding workarounds and don't really need the ZIP file apart from
>>> convenience.
>>
>> I was not clear in my previous email. I have NOT found a way to work around
>> this.
>
>> Is there any chance this might even be done (as an experimental version) for
>> Python 3.4?
>
> Couldn't this zip file be advertised in the embedded section of python.org?  Or with a "for embedding in Windows apps"
> tag?  (or whatever the proper verbiage is)

For the time being, things like PyInstaller, PyRun, Portable Python,
etc are going to offer a better solution than anything we provide in
the standard installers.

As Steve says, addressing the situation properly requires eliminating
various current assumptions in the interpreter startup sequence that
are really only valid in a normal installation context, and if you
start pulling on *that* particular thread you may find yourself
writing a proposal like PEP 432 as your brain starts to hurt and you
consider ways you may be able to make the pain stop :)

By bypassing the normal interpreter entirely, and instead creating
your own custom binary that embeds the CPython runtime, you get a lot
more flexibility and control in terms of what happens during the
startup sequence. It's not complete control (hence the need for PEP
432, or something like it), but it's still a lot more control than if
you try to use the python.org binaries directly.

Cheers,
Nick.

-- 
Nick Coghlan   |   ncoghlan at gmail.com   |   Brisbane, Australia