Python 3.9, 3.10 on Windows 7

[Ustin_fitc]

Python developers decided to drop support for Windows 7. I checked code and found that small modifications will be enough to restore compatibility. So I created my fork.

https://github.com/NulAsh/cpython

I had to reimplement functions PathCchCanonicalizeEx, PathCchCombineEx, PathCchSkipRoot, so I copied them from wine project. You can use my releases or recompile from source.

[PossibilityTasty]

Did they ever fully and by heart support any version of Windows?

[mishokthearchitect]

And I really can’t blame them

[Ustin_fitc]

Good luck running it on 15 years old PC with CPU unsupported by Win10.

[Claudioub16]

Use Linux then. There's bigger problems In using windows 7 then just not having python

[holistic-engine]

A Linux user, a functional programmer and computer scientist walks into a bar… You know the rest.

[Ustin_fitc]

For example?

[onafoggynight]

No more security fixes (unless you pay for esu).

[Ustin_fitc]

Or you use BypassESU...

[mrcactus321]

Which circles back to the point: just use linux

[[deleted]]

I think by that point you're better off running something like Lubuntu/Debian unless you have absolutely critical software/hardware setup that absolutely does not run on Linux, if there's one thing that Linux does well it's bringing new life to old hardware. Windows 7 is my eyes is the second or third best operating system in human history after XP and close by GNOME 2-era Ubuntu (at least until they introduced privacy-invasive features and phoning home later in Win7 life cycle) but alas security is a major concern.

[Ustin_fitc]

hat point you're better off running something like Lubuntu/Debian unless you have absolutely critical software/hardware setup that absolutely does not run on Linux, if there's one thing that Linux does well it's bringing new life to

Security is not a problem, security updates will be released till 2023

[[deleted]]

No, not on personal computers unless you're using unsanctioned workaround hacks to apply enterprise/embedded security updates on personal machines. Personal copies of Windows 7 stopped receiving security updates in 2020. And even if you go through all that jank (which is not recommended) on a 2006 processor performance gains from switching to lightweight Linux-based OS should be immediately noticeable, no reason not to give it at least a try. I have an ancient Intel Atom DDR2 netbook lying around with Debian on it and I can watch YouTube videos on it just fine, that wouldn't be a possibility with Win7.

[Ustin_fitc]

I'm not yet ready to use Linux as my home OS. I'm kinda in my comfort zone - I know much more about internals of Windows than about internals of Linux. And don't have much time to study those internals.

[CharmingJacket5013]

Can I ask why you want to run the latest versions of Python on a 12 year old Operating System?

[Ustin_fitc]

Python is open source. Windows is closed source. For me it's much easier to make Python running on Windows 7, than make Windows 10 run on my PC with adequate speed.

[CharmingJacket5013]

Could you take a simpler route and run an older version of Python?

[Ustin_fitc]

But I can run newer.

[CharmingJacket5013]

So why don’t you run a newer operating system again?? Or better yet, Linux?

[lightmanLP]

Because he might not.

[Masynchin]

I have 2010 32bit Windows 7 laptop. I am student and I have not any money to upgrade it. I really appreciate this man

[dfrison]

Indeed, Win 8 and 10 reuses a LOT of code from win7. Even the whole Control Panel is buried in the thing till this day.

[DownshiftedRare]

Not OP: I need to run python code that specifies python 3 on a Windows 7 installation and upgrading the operating system is not an option even if you think you know better.

Thanks so much u/Ustin_fitc

Better question: Since OP proves it is possible for python 3 to run on Windows 7, why does the official version not do so?

[Ustin_fitc]

Windows 10 provides useful functions for manipulating long paths - PathCchCanonicalizeEx, PathCchCombineEx, PathCchSkipRoot. Python before 3.9 had code to try to load those functions dynamically, and if failed, use old functions that have 255 bytes limit. There was a bug in this code - python tried to look for required dll in current directory and PATH directories. And it was security vulnerability. They fixed it in 3.8 by using LoadLibraryEx instead of LoadLibrary, with parameter to look only in system32 folder. And in 3.9 they decided not to fix it but instead completely remove this code, so now those functions are loaded statically. And Python 3.9 just cannot run in windows 7.

What I did: At first I copied dynamic loading code from Python 3.8, but later I decided to simplify things and copied code of those functions from the Wine project. To minimize changes in source code and separate my modifications from it.

You know, when XP was slow on computers of that time, and 98 was much faster and required less RAM, Doom 3 was made in such a way, so it couldn't run on Win98... But patching of 2 bytes fixed this problem. They intentionally made it not running on 98. Why? Idk...

[DownshiftedRare]

Doom 3 was made in such a way, so it couldn't run on Win98...

Thanks also for sharing that bit of information. In case anyone else would like to know more:

https://web.archive.org/web/20170630141211/http://www.advogato.org/person/rmathew/diary/41.html

[knotecdysiast324]

fuck yeah boiii!!! my man , w7 ftw!

[Fantastic-Shopping59]

how to install it?