- E02 - Support for MinGW Open Source Compiler

[Diez B. Roggisch]

> If you put yourself into the shoes of someone who decides to use a
> Python product that requires compiling, and that product contains C
> extensions that also need compiling, you'll see that it doesn't matter
> whether or not that individual has actually written a single line of
> Python themselves.  If the compiling process is not easy, then that
> user will be forced to fiddle with nitty gritty details about which
> they'd rather remain ignorant.

If an extension for python is written in C, usually the extension will be
available in binary form. As the porting from unix to windows takes some
effort, an extension needs testing on windows anyway. So unless you develop
extensions yourself, you don't need a compiler at all.

> On Linux, I've installed and used/compiled products in a variety of
> languages in which I've never written a single line of source code
> myself.  In most cases the process works fairly well.  When it doesn't,
> I'm forced to fiddle with nitty gritty details about which I'd rather
> remain ignorant.  The result is usually a good deal of frustration and
> anger on my part.

> On Windows, most users are used to installing precompiled binary
> packages, rather than compiling from source.  When you do have to
> compile from source, it often requires you to fiddle with nitty gritty
> details about which you'd rather remain ignorant.  The less fiddling
> required, the happier the user will be, and the easier it will be for
> that product to get adopted on that platform.  No psychic abilities are
> required.  No Python abilities are required, either, for that matter.
> ;-)

We're not talking end users here. If you have a product developed, you can
ship that - including binary parts compiled for windows.

If I recall your earlier post correctly, you wanted to use qt-x11 under
windows. So you want to use a piece of software which explicitely is not
supposed to run under windows - as there is a commercial version available
for windows. While I can understand the desire to have GPL version of Qt
for windows (which will become reality with qt4), I can't avoid to think
that you chose a deliberately rough path to follow. So there you are. If
you want things easy, pay for a msvc compiler + qt windows version. Then
things will be pretty straightforward. As others (including me) have stated
before: windows is a commercial product. You have to pay to use it, and you
have to pay to develop for it. That's the way MS wants it. The alternatives
are there - but you can't have your cake and eat it.

-- 
Regards,

Diez B. Roggisch