How to install Python package from source on Windows

[Michael Torrie]

On 05/19/2017 03:38 PM, bartc wrote:
> If I delete the .a file and do make again, then it will give me a list 
> of object files comprising libpython3.6m.a (not sure why it needs to be 
> a library, rather than bundle the list of .o files with python.o).

The reason is that the core of CPython is a shared library. This is so
that Python can be embedded in other programs, and also to allow
building of C-based extensions for Python. Without the shared library to
link against, C-based extensions would be orphans without any way to
work with CPython.

> Anyway it's a start.
> 
> For the compilation, I think it's done with the -D compiler option (to 
> pass on a special macro, which perhaps triggers certain things to be 
> included or defined).

Some things are defined that way yes. Other things are defined in the
generated header file mentioned by someone else the other day.