[EVALUATION] - E02 - Support for MinGW Open Source Compiler

[Michael Hoffman]

Ilias Lazaridis wrote:

> a) Why does the Python Foundation not provide additionally a binary 
> version, compiled with MinGW or another open-source compiler?

I use a binary version of Python compiled with an open-source compiler
on Windows that was provided by someone else.

> b) Why does the Python Foundation not ensure, that the python 
> source-code is directly compilable with MinGW?

Why should they? It already runs on Windows with a freely available
compiler.

> f) Are there any official (Python Foundation) statements / rationales 
> available, which explain why the MinGW compiler is unsupported, although 
> parts of the community obviously like to use it?

Not to my knowledge. But I would guess because supporting it would
obviously be a lot of work and the core developers have other things to
do they consider more important. They are volunteers, you know.

Why don't you solve this problem and produce a patched version of
Python that does what you want.

> [google is _not_ a fried here. I like to have a stable development 
> environment, which is supported by the official projects, thus it can 
> pass quality-assurance without beeing afraid about every next release.]

Then you have several options:

a) use a supported development environment
b) do the work yourself to support MinGW
c) pay someone else to do the work

But don't act like the volunteers who develop Python owe you a version
of Python that runs out of the box on MinGW. They don't, anymore than you
owe *me* a version of Python that runs out of the box on MinGW.

Now why haven't *you* produced a version of Python that is directly
compileable with MinGW? Time's a-wasting.
-- 
Michael Hoffman