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[Python-Dev] Moving Python 3.5 on Windows to a new compiler

Nick Coghlan ncoghlan at gmail.com
Sat Jun 7 07:18:49 CEST 2014 
On 7 June 2014 15:05, Donald Stufft <donald at stufft.io> wrote:
> I don’t particularly care too much though, I just think that bumping
> the compiler in a 2.7.Z release is a really bad idea and that either
> of the other two options are massively better.

It is *incredibly* unlikely that backwards compatibility with binary
extensions will be broken within the Python 2.7 series - there's a
reason we said "No" when the Stackless folks were asking about it a
while back. Instead, the toolchain availability problem is currently
being tackled by trying to make suitable build toolchains more readily
available (both the official VS 2008 toolchain and alternative open
source toolchains), and by reducing the reliance on building from
source for end users.

Both of those courses of action are likely to bear fruit. It's only in
the case where those approaches *don't* solve the problem that we'll
need to come back and revisit the question of a compatibility break
for binary extensions - it is, as you say, a really bad idea, and
hence not something we would pursue when there are better options
available (I think a Python 2.8 release would be an *even worse* idea
in terms of souring our relationships with redistributors, but
fortunately, those aren't our only two choices).

Regards,
Nick.

-- 
Nick Coghlan   |   ncoghlan at gmail.com   |   Brisbane, Australia
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