On Fri, 26 Aug 2011 14:52:07 +1000 Nick Coghlan <ncogh...@gmail.com> wrote: > Windows is a developer hostile platform unless you completely buy into > the Microsoft toolchain, which is not an option for cross-platform > projects like Python.
We already buy into the MS toolchain since we require Visual Studio (or at least the command-line tools for building, but I suppose anyone doing serious development on Windows would use the GUI). We also maintain the project files by hand instead of using e.g. cmake. > It's well within Microsoft's capabilities to create and support a > POSIX compatibility layer that allows applications to look and feel > like native ones I have a hard time imagining how a POSIX compatibility layer would make Windows apps feel more "native". It's a matter of fact that Unix and Windows systems function differently. I don't know how much of it can be completely hidden. > the multibillion dollar corporation deliberately > failing to implement a widely recognised OS interoperability > standard I wouldn't call POSIX an OS interoperability standard, but an Unix interoperability standard. It exists because there is so much fragmentation in the Unix world. I doubt MS was invited to the party when POSIX specifications were designed. Windows has its own standards, but since MS is basically the sole OS vendor, they are free to dictate them :) And when I look at the various "POSIX" systems we try to support there: http://www.python.org/dev/buildbot/all/waterfall?category=3.x.stable&category=3.x.unstable I have the feeling that perhaps we spend more time trying to work around incompatibilities, special cases and various levels of (in)compliance among POSIX systems, than implementing the Windows-specific code paths of low-level functions (where the APIs are usually well-defined and very stable). Regards Antoine. _______________________________________________ Python-Dev mailing list Python-Dev@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-dev Unsubscribe: http://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-dev/archive%40mail-archive.com
