Windows installer from python source code without access to source code

[Thomas Passin]

On 3/31/2023 5:16 PM, Jim Schwartz wrote:
> What license do I have to choose so people can't use my code?  I don't know
> this stuff.

It would help if you would explain what you want to accomplish and why. 
Do you expect to make money off your software?  If not, why do want so 
badly to protect it?

The most basic answer is that your code is automatically protected by 
copyright law unless you say differently.  But it is still a good idea 
to state outright what actions would be allowed and what would be forbidden.

If you do expect to make money, you could look at what phone apps 
developers include with their apps.  And it would be good to consult a 
lawyer who practices in this field.


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Python-list <python-list-bounces+jschwar=sbcglobal.net at python.org> On
> Behalf Of Chris Angelico
> Sent: Friday, March 31, 2023 7:09 AM
> To: python-list at python.org
> Subject: Re: Windows installer from python source code without access to
> source code
> 
> On Fri, 31 Mar 2023 at 23:01, Jim Schwartz <jschwar at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>
>> I want a windows installer to install my application that's written in
>> python, but I don't want the end user to have access to my source code.
>>
>>
>>
>> Is that possible using python?  I was using cx-freeze, but that has
>> the source code available.  So does pyinstaller.  I think gcc does, too.
>>
>>
>>
>> Does anyone know of a way to do this?
>>
> 
> Fundamentally no, it's not. Python code will always be distributed as some
> form of bytecode. The only way to make it available without revealing
> anything is to put it on a server and let people access it without running
> it themselves.
> 
> But why is that a problem? Copyright law protects you from people stealing
> your code and making unauthorized changes to it, and if you're not worried
> about them making changes, there's no reason to hide the source code
> (whatever you distribute would be just as copiable). Are you concerned that
> people will see your bugs? We all have them.
> 
> ChrisA
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>