Python Programming On Win32

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

It should be noted that once you start delving into building from sources, the world takes a murkier turn. When you download different source packages and attempt to build them into a single system, things rarely work as expected first time around.

One of the biggest problems is interproject dependencies. If you download the core Python sources, they will probably build well. However, if you then download some other Python extensions (such as the Win32 or COM sources), you may strike some problems when Visual C++ tries to find the Python files (such as header or library files) it needs.

The fundamental problem is that every programmer stores his or her source code in a different directory structure than everyone else. Sometimes these directory structures are dictated by corporate policy, or sometimes they are personal taste. Even worse than this is the problem of changing between versions of Python and other extensions you use. When a new version of Python comes out, you will probably need to change every single project file to reference the new version.

To attempt to make this problem bearable, here are a couple of tricks to make working with source code easier:

• Don’t specify Python15.lib, PyWinTypes.lib, or PythonCOM.lib in your project file. These packages employ a Visual C++ trick so that by including the necessary headers (such as Python.h or PyWinTypes.h), an implicit reference is made to the necessary .lib files. This automatically uses the correct release ...