Python 2.4 killing commercial Windows Python development ?

[Dave Brueck]

Thomas Heller wrote:
> Dave Brueck <dave at pythonapocrypha.com> writes:
>>Terry Reedy wrote:
>>>If there is something about the default install of Python on Windows
>>>that makes it less desireable or less easy than other platforms,
>>>then maybe that can be fixed.  To make installation easier, maybe
>>>someone could write a small .exe that could be frozen with scripts
>>>or run with installers and that would detect the presence/absence of
>>>the needed Python version and offer an auto download and install if
>>>needed.
>>
>>I mostly agree with the sentiment, but it does break down a little in
>>practice. At least currently it does - like you said, this is fixable,
>>but nobody has signed up to fix it yet.
>>
>>The main thing that's needed is a zero-input Python distribution - a
>>Python runtime, if you will - that (1) gets installed to a "good"
>>place (2) does so without asking the user to do anything, (3) can
>>coexist with different versions of the runtime, and (4) is easily
>>detectable by applications wanting to use it.
> 
> 
> The effbot.exe platform (or how it's called) ?

Yep - something along those lines, plus some docs for app developers. I don't 
know if it installs all the stdlib, or just what effbot apps need, but I assume 
the former.

>>One other minor component is a small launcher executable, because on
>>Windows it's non-trivial to find out which "python.exe" in the task
>>manager is running which Python script. Anyway, each app would have a
>>small launcher that bootstraps the actual Python script[1]. (Or, if
>>there's some way to trick the task manager into displaying something
>>besides "python.exe", that'd work too)
> 
> 
> exemaker?

Something similar to that, yes. You'd need an option to generate a console 
launcher or a Windows app launcher (maybe his latest version already has this?), 
and a way to figure out which version of the runtime to use (rather than specify 
the path ahead of time, you'd specify version requirements, and then at runtime 
use registry entries to figure out where that runtime is), but the general idea 
is the same.

-Dave