[GRASS-dev] Handling of Python scripts on MS Windows

[Glynn Clements]

Moritz Lennert wrote:

> the argument that GRASS4Win should be a different beast 
> than GRASS4NIX in that it should become a monolithic integrated 
> application, which, IMHO, fundamentally alters the very nature of what 
> GRASS is.

There's no fundamental reason why we can't have "Lite" and "Full"
versions.

I don't have a problem with having a "Lite" version; it's the lack of
a "Full" version that I have a problem with.

The main point is that GRASS should not automatically switch to
"idiot mode" upon detecting that it's running on Windows.

> But whatever the solution, unless we want to turn GRASS4Win into a 
> different application than GRASS on other platforms, there will have to 
> be a minimal amount of intervention by the user to chose how she wants 
> to handle Python on her machine.

Well, in theory at least, we could adopt ESRI's "solution" and just
force "our" Python to be the system Python, stomping on any existing
installation.

While I'm not recommending that approach, it's worth noting that I'm
(apparently) not the only one who considers having a "system Python"
to be a necessity. And ESRI doesn't even need to maintain
compatibility between platforms, ArcGIS being Windows-only.

-- 
Glynn Clements <glynn at gclements.plus.com>