How to install Python package from source on Windows

[Deborah Swanson]

Chris Angelico wrote, on Thursday, May 25, 2017 12:47 AM
> 
> On Thu, May 25, 2017 at 4:57 PM, Deborah Swanson 
> <python at deborahswanson.net> wrote:
> > Oh, what bliss it must be to run on a system that hasn't 
> been declared 
> > a pariah by everyone and his dog. (But yet it covers all 
> the essential 
> > bases quite nicely.)
> >
> > I tried ensurepip, but it also wants to install a recent version of 
> > Visual something-or-other, and it breaks and dies when it can't. So 
> > pipless I will be for the near term.
> >
> > Pip may be pure Python, but it seems everything that wants to do 
> > anything with pip wants a recent version of Visual 
> something-or-other 
> > to do it with.
> 
> I'm beginning to wonder if maybe there's a non-standard file 
> in the installation that's getting imported ahead of the 
> standard library, and THAT is what's looking for MSVS.
> 
> ChrisA

Could be, maybe it's something they do for every installation, whether
it will use it or not. But it always breaks when it can't install Visual
Studio. Upgrade pip does run and it works up to that point. It gets as
far as uninstalling the old pip, but then there's no way to get any pip
reinstalled.