[Python-Dev] Windows package for new SSL package? (original) (raw)

David Bolen db3l.net at gmail.com
Thu Sep 13 13:14:26 CEST 2007

On 9/13/07, Paul Moore <p.f.moore at gmail.com> wrote:

On 13/09/2007, David Bolen <db3l.net at gmail.com> wrote:

> I think where there's probably a small disconnect here is that, there > really isn't an OpenSSL "installed" on the end user's machine. Well, > there could be, but Python isn't using it. The OpenSSL library is > statically linked as part of the ssl.pyd module, as it will be with > your ssl2.pyd module. (That's also why there is no OpenSSL to "find" > in your setup even with Python installed - at least not any libraries > you can use).

That's not 100% true, is it? If I use mingw and Gnuwin32 openssl, I believe the default is a dynamic link of openssl (it depends on the import library used, and gnuwin32 supplies dynamic libs by default). So the openssl DLLs need to be on the user's PATH for the extension module to work.

That's a fair point - my comments are all related to the standard Python distribution and building extensions with the VS.NET compiler (including the binary installer I had built for Bill).

For the extension, you may need to (1) document that the user needs to have the openssl DLLs on their PATH and possibly (1a) supply a zipfile with the necessary DLLs as a supplemental download, or (2) arrange for the openssl DLLs to be included in the extension installer, and installed alongside the .pyd file.

If we're talking about the construction of binary Windows installers, I'd just suggest that they get built as the built-in SSL module does, including the static linking with a pure Windows OpenSSL build, which is a bit simpler for the typical end user and has no other external requirements.

Of course, that certainly doesn't stop a person who has already set up their system for using mingw for extensions from doing their own compilation, although it does raise a question as to whether the setup.py would need some further adjustments to cover that case most cleanly.

-- David

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