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Even without python 3, it has become an increasingly complicated ecosystem. I run python 2.x on windows for scientific uses and find incompatibility to be a common problem. I need separate 32 bit and 64 bit versions which use different dlls that may or may not be in several possible locations and use incompatible libraries. Trying to run pypy or python 3 would be just to complicated.

Python is not a single ecosystem any more. We need separate distributions that can be self contained.

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I've been told the Anaconda distribution (https://store.continuum.io/cshop/anaconda/) of Python can ease some of the pain there. The fact that I have to direct you to a "store" to download it does give me pause, however, even if the distribution is actually free.

Anaconda is open source, free and will always be. The founders of our company (and the rest of us) have a long history of being good open source citizens. There are enhanced versions of Anaconda that include proprietary code that we charge for. The base distribution (which includes Pandas, SciPy, NumPy...) has and will always be free.

Note:I work for Continuum Analytics.

The link to the "non-store" download page which we tell everyone about is: http://continuum.io/downloads.

Yes, we are a company and do sell things, but our commitment to open source is backed by many, many years of significant contributions to the community. We give as much away as we can, and sell to those who need more.

While you certainly buy more from us, Anaconda itself will always be free as long as we can continue to make it.

Thank you for that. And thank you for your contributions. My point about the store was more aesthetic. If you are ideological about the openness of your tool chain (and I start edging that way the closer things get to science), then the "exit through the gift shop" is mildly off-putting. I say mildly, because it still doesn't prevent me from recommending it over other alternatives. I also understand that your paid products add value (and in the case of MKL, aren't yours to open-sourcify anyway).

The non-store link definitely feels more open-sourcey. I'll be sure to send people that way. Again, I didn't want to imply that you all were bad open source stewards.

Isn't this what virtualenvs are for?

The tradition on Windows is to download binaries and also not to maintain binary compatibility across compiler versions, so it can be a pain to get matching compiler versions of libraries.

The part about 32-bit versus 64-bit is a red herring; you'll deal with that on Windows regardless of what runtime environment you use on top.

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