[Python-Dev] Can we clean up the buildbots please?

[David Bolen]

Larry Hastings <larry at hastings.org> writes:

>> Is MSVS 2015 the only supported compiler for Python 3.5 on Windows?
>> What's the other buildbot using MSVS 2015?

For a while I think the only buildbot was my 8.1 slave, but I believe
at this point Jeremy may also have it on his 7 slave.  The latest on
my 7 slave is still 2010 (which is still working, sans recent test
failures).

> I'll answer my own question here.  According to PCbuild/readme.txt:
>
>    This script will use the env.bat script to detect one of Visual
>    Studio 2015, 2013, 2012, or 2010, any of which may be used to build
>    Python, though only Visual Studio 2015 is officially supported.
>
> I'll admit I'm puzzled by the wisdom of using unsupported compilers on
> buildbots.  I guess it's a historical thing.  But I gently suggest
> that we should either upgrade those buildbots to a supported compiler
> or remove them entirely.  Definitely we should remove unsupported the
> two unsupported platforms from the buildbots--that's just crazy.

To be fair, VS 2015 hasn't been officially released yet.  It only
recently (as in a few weeks ago) reached RC stage.  Given the size of
installing it, and earlier uncertainty about upgrading during the
pre-release cycle, plus some early issues with the build process, for
my part I've opted to hold off with my older slaves until it hits
release status, using only the 8.1 slave until then.  (Arguably the
current RC is supposed to be at most a minor update away from full
release, so we're probably close)

Along the way it was concluded that XP just wasn't worth making work
for the 3.5+ development, but the slave was still valuable for the 2.7
branch, so would be left around for now for that purpose.  It is a bit
misleading to still be trying to build the 3.x branch on it but I
suspect eliminating the branch from that slave is just an oversight,
or nobody with the proper access has had time yet.

-- David