How to build Python 2.7.5 using Visual Studio 2012 Express on Windows 8 64-bit

My goal with these instructions is to produce a DEBUG build on x86_64 (AMD64 or x64). I'm working on a Python extension that is currently crashing on Windows, but work fine in Linux. I will be building debug version of Numpy and Matplotlib after the DEBUG version of Python is created with these instructions.

Shameless Plug: I'm the author of the C++ & Python module Nsound

References:

Many thanks to sebastien.sable for their page VS2010, which I followed to create these instructions.

Prepare Environment

1. Create a directory to store the Python source tree and dependencies, I called mine python_build.

2. Download Python 2.7.5 source from python.org and unzip it to python_build

3. Download and install an SVN command-line client (Try SlickSVN)

4. Download and install Perl64

5. Download and install Visual Studio Express 2012

Test Environment

1. Open a shell

2. Bring in the msvc compiler environment for x64 by doing:

• call "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 11.0\VC\vcvarsall.bat" x86_amd64

  Verify by typing 'cl.exe':

  Microsoft (R) C/C++ Optimizing Compiler Version 17.00.60610.1 for x64

3. Try running the svn client: 'svn --version':

• svn, version 1.8.3-SlikSvn-1.8.3-X64 (SlikSvn/1.8.3) X64
     compiled Sep  4 2013, 16:04:02 on x86_64/x86-microsoft-windows6.1.7601
  
  Copyright (C) 2013 The Apache Software Foundation.

4. Try running perl: 'perl --version'

• This is perl 5, version 16, subversion 3 (v5.16.3) built for MSWin32-x64-multi-thread

Download dependencies

Use the buildbot tools to grab the external dependencies:

• cd Python2.7.5
  Tools\buildbot\external-common.bat

Patch External Dependencies

Tcl

• diff -r -Z -U 2 tcl-8.5.2.1/generic/tclPosixStr.c /home/Nick/development/debug/tcl-8.5.2.1/generic/tclPosixStr.c
  --- tcl-8.5.2.1/generic/tclPosixStr.c   2008-06-12 09:01:20.765751000 -0700
  +++ /home/Nick/development/debug/tcl-8.5.2.1/generic/tclPosixStr.c      2013-10-05 09:09:22.967569100 -0700
  @@ -345,5 +345,5 @@
   #endif
   #if defined(EPFNOSUPPORT) && (!defined(ENOLCK) || (ENOLCK != EPFNOSUPPORT))
  -    case EPFNOSUPPORT: return "EPFNOSUPPORT";
  +    // case EPFNOSUPPORT: return "EPFNOSUPPORT";
   #endif
   #ifdef EPIPE
  @@ -405,5 +405,5 @@
   #endif
   #ifdef ESOCKTNOSUPPORT
  -    case ESOCKTNOSUPPORT: return "ESOCKTNOSUPPORT";
  +    // case ESOCKTNOSUPPORT: return "ESOCKTNOSUPPORT";
   #endif
   #ifdef ESPIPE
  @@ -793,5 +793,5 @@
   #endif
   #if defined(EPFNOSUPPORT) && (!defined(ENOLCK) || (ENOLCK != EPFNOSUPPORT))
  -    case EPFNOSUPPORT: return "protocol family not supported";
  +    // case EPFNOSUPPORT: return "protocol family not supported";
   #endif
   #ifdef EPIPE
  @@ -853,5 +853,5 @@
   #endif
   #ifdef ESOCKTNOSUPPORT
  -    case ESOCKTNOSUPPORT: return "socket type not supported";
  +    // case ESOCKTNOSUPPORT: return "socket type not supported";
   #endif
   #ifdef ESPIPE
  diff -r -Z -U 2 tcl-8.5.2.1/win/makefile.vc /home/Nick/development/debug/tcl-8.5.2.1/win/makefile.vc
  --- tcl-8.5.2.1/win/makefile.vc 2008-06-12 09:01:20.765751000 -0700
  +++ /home/Nick/development/debug/tcl-8.5.2.1/win/makefile.vc    2013-10-05 09:10:03.859581600 -0700
  @@ -449,5 +449,5 @@
  
   !if $(DEBUG)
  -ldebug = -debug:full -debugtype:cv
  +ldebug = -debugtype:cv
   !else
   ldebug = -release -opt:ref -opt:icf,3

Tk

• diff -r -Z -U 2 tk-8.5.2.0/win/makefile.vc /home/Nick/development/debug/tk-8.5.2.0/win/makefile.vc
  --- tk-8.5.2.0/win/makefile.vc  2008-06-12 09:01:54.000047000 -0700
  +++ /home/Nick/development/debug/tk-8.5.2.0/win/makefile.vc     2013-10-05 09:10:27.667979000 -0700
  @@ -473,5 +473,5 @@
  
   !if $(DEBUG)
  -ldebug = -debug:full -debugtype:cv
  +ldebug = -debugtype:cv
   !else
   ldebug = -release -opt:ref -opt:icf,3

Compile External Dependencies

• cd Python2.7.5
  Tools\buildbot\external-amd64.bat

Manually Build Openssl 1.0.1e

1. Download and unzip openssl-1.0.1e.tar.gz

2. Configure openssl:

• cd openssl-1.0.1e
  perl Configure --openssldir=%CD%\ enable-camellia disable-idea VC-WIN64A

3. IMPORTANT, I guess perl creates "symobolic" links inside the include directory which the openssl build environment understands. However Visual Studio doesn't understand them:

• Example Visual Studio Error message:

• C:\Users\Nick\Downloads\python_build\openssl-1.0.1e\include\openssl/evp.h(1): error C2059: syntax error : '!'

  To correct the problem, copy the headers over their symbolic links. I used a BASH shell in Cygwin to do this:

• cd openssl-1.0.1e/include/openssl
  for f in *.h; do cp $f $f.nick; mv $f.nick $f; done

  If you don't have Cygwin installed, just unzip this file into openssl-1.0.1e\include\openssl openssl-headers-1.0.1e.zip

4. Build with these commands:

• ms\do_win64a.bat
  nmake -f ms\ntdll.mak

Convert Visual Studio 2008 Solution

1. Open Python-2.7.5\PCbuild\pcbuild.sln with Visual Studio 2012 Express

2. Click OK to perform the "One-Way" upgrade on all the project files.

3. Immediately close Visual Studio 2012 Express

Patch Project Files

See this diff file: PCbuild_patches.txt

I've also just zipped up the project files so you can just unzip them into PCbuild: python-2.7.5-amd64-pcbuild.zip

Build Python

1. Open Python-2.7.5\PCbuild\pcbuild.sln

2. Select 'DEBUG' and 'x64' For the configuration.

3. Click 'Build' -> 'Build Solution' (F7):

• You should now see a successful DEBUG build:

• ========== Build: 25 succeeded, 0 failed, 0 up-to-date, 1 skipped ==========

Install Python

Now that Python has been built, I will used the script below to install executables and libraries under one directory. Building the selfinstaller won't work in Visual Studio Express, also, the MSI tool won't package up any of the debug libraries, since these don't get updated by Windows Update, doing so would be a security risk.

So, I used this FIXME script to install do a target directory:

• FIXME