So, I thought I'd tool up to let me build and test Python extensions on Windows (as well as Mac and Linux) -- I'm trying out Parallels Workstation beta on my new Macbook Pro (and so far it seems to work very well), I bought and installed a Win2000 Pro on it (since according to the grapevine it works better than XP in various kinds of virtual machines, and almost all SW supports w2k anyway -- I also found out that one exception is the Google Pack, which does require XP), did all the upgrades (why MS forces you to do 8+ rounds of download-install, from an off-the-CD win2k SP2 to a fully upgraded win2k SP4, rather than offering a single-round option, I just don't undersand!), got Python 2.4.3 -- phew, so far so good.
So, I go to <http://www.vrplumber.com/programming/mstoolkit/> and start following the instructions, beginning with the download of Visual C++ Toolkit 2003... oops! I can't find that download any more at <http://msdn.microsoft.com/visualc/vctoolkit2003/> -- instead, what's at that URL is a page explaining that """ The Visual C++ Toolkit 2003 has been replaced by Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition. """ Hmmm -- I can't build extensions for the standard build of Python 2.4.3 with VC++ 2005, can I? Express or other, they just use separate and incompatible C-runtime libraries, I believe. So -- does anybody know if the 2003-level Toolkit is STILL available for download somewhere, or can suggest other (legal;-) ways in which I can build and test Python extensions (with an optimizing compiler -- NON-optimizing ones are right out;-) w/o shelling out beeg moolah to MS? So far my total investment is about $100 ($40 for Parallels Workstation, which I preordered after briefly checking out the free-for-1-month beta, since it worked so well; $60 for the cheapest legal CD+license of w2k I could find around) -- and I'm not complaining, since the current setup will still let me TEST many diverse things on Windows; to gain the further ability of *compiling* Python extensions, I'm not averse to spending a little more if needed, but certainly not as much as another $100 (I do prefer free to cheap, but for example the $40 Parallels product is well worth the money, to me, compared to the free 'Q', because the latter, while fun to hack around with, was absorbing countless hours of my time in many attempts to get everything working, while Parallels essentially "just worked" and saved me LOTS of time). Thanks in advance for any suggestions! Just to show that I'm an oldstyle Usenet dynosaur: suggestions in private mail are also welcome (but my real mailbox these days is at gmail, not as yahoo as the 'From' header above says), and I will undertake to summarize and post any suggestions thus received (unless the suggestions' authors request me to not repost). Alex -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
