identifying 64-bit Windows from 2.3.5?

[Thomas Heller]

Steven Knight <knight at baldmt.com> writes:

> Hi Ivan--
>
>>> If I have installed 2.3.5 from the python.org Windows installer, can
>>> any one point me to a run-time way to identify whether I'm running on
>>> a 32-bit vs. 64-bit version of Windows XP, given that Python itself was
>>> built on/for a 32-bit system?
>>
>> I really don't think it matters too much which one you have, I have
>> 64 bit and it works fine.
>
> Yes, the same Python executable and code works just fine on both systems,
> but I need to do different things (in this case, invoke a different
> compiler with a different set of compiler options) based on whether or
> not I'm building on a 32-bit or 64-bit system.

Use ctypes (sic!), or write a binary extension, and call IsWow64Process.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/win64/win64/running_32_bit_applications.asp

Thomas