New submission from Jack Jansen <jack.jan...@cwi.nl>:
On Windows, when ctypes fails to load a DLL, the error message is misleading. If a dependency of the DLL cannot be found if appears as if the DLL itself cannot be found. This issue has always existed on Windows (and I know it is due to what the OS provides by default as its error message) but it is exacerbated by the DLL loading rules in Python 3.8 (the `os.add_dll_directory()` changes), because now importing a DLL into Python will follow different rules than those followed by, for example, command line utilities shipped with the DLL you are loading follow. An ideal fix would be a message of the form "xxx.dll failed to load because its dependency yyy.dll is not on the current Python DLL search path, see zzzz for details". But I am not well-versed enough in Windows APIs to know whether that is even possible. A fix that is minimal and at least not misleading would be a message "xxx.dll (or one of its dependencies) failed to load. See zzzz for details". ---------- components: ctypes messages: 368748 nosy: jackjansen priority: normal severity: normal status: open title: ctypes on Windows: error message on DLL load failure is misleading type: enhancement versions: Python 3.8 _______________________________________ Python tracker <rep...@bugs.python.org> <https://bugs.python.org/issue40610> _______________________________________ _______________________________________________ Python-bugs-list mailing list Unsubscribe: https://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-bugs-list/archive%40mail-archive.com
