Reliably Distributing Binary Modules

Speaker: Paul Kehrer

Type: Talk

Room: Congo Room

Time: Oct 07 (Fri), 11:30

Duration: 0:45

Shipping Python libraries is easy! ...until you want to use a C library. How do you easily and reliably deliver software to users when they may not have the libraries you depend on, or even a compiler? How do you handle the significant differences between linux, OS X, Windows, FreeBSD, and other platforms Python runs on?

We'll walk through:

  • The requirements for building C modules in Python.
  • Why those requirements contribute to bad UX and create barriers to adoption.
  • How wheels can be used to surmount many of these challenges.
  • What kind of infrastructure is required to build these wheels.
  • The advantages and potential disadvantages of binary distribution.