RE: Status of Python for the PC -- please respond!

Jaap Vermeulen (jaap@sequent.com)
Wed, 09 Feb 94 08:56:00 PST

| I am now considering to support Python on the PC for Windows only.
| Using the Microsoft QuickWin library I have found that it is trivial
| to create a Python executable that (a) behaves like a standard Windows
| application (with a single text window where the prompt appears to
| which you can type interactive Python statements) and (b) can allocate
| essentially all the memory the machine has (though if you ask for the
| last few bytes it may run infinitely slow). This sounds like a useful
| thing to me, and it's very little work.

Yes, that would be wonderful and very useful. I assume you would forego on
the text window if the python was used in batch mode...

Now, if you we get at other dll's...
And tack the GUI onto it... :-)

| However, I don't know what the majority of PC users would like, and,
| not being a DOC hack myself, I also don't know if maybe there is a way
| to use the extended memory that's obviously sitting *somewhere* in the
| machine. Given the structure of Python's code, this would have to be
| compatible with the standard malloc() function, somehow.

Yes, there are DOS extenders. And it would be useful to try that as well.
Unfortunately, I don't know enough to be helpful. I started to build Python
under NT. As soon as some cycles free up again, I will continue that effort.

-Jaap-