Python 2.5 WinXP AMD64

[Brendan]

Hello,
I just tried to use the Windows XP installer for Python 2.5 AMD64 but I
get the error message: "Installation package not supported by processor
type"

I am running Windows XP Pro on an AMD Athon 64 Processor.

Do I need to have a 64-bit OS to use this version?

 

[Christophe]

Brendan a écrit :

Hello,
I just tried to use the Windows XP installer for Python 2.5 AMD64 but I
get the error message: "Installation package not supported by processor
type"

I am running Windows XP Pro on an AMD Athon 64 Processor.

Do I need to have a 64-bit OS to use this version?

To be exact, you need a 64bit Windows OS on a 64bit cpu.

 

[Brendan]

Thanks.

Brendan a écrit :

To be exact, you need a 64bit Windows OS on a 64bit cpu.

 

[Bjoern Schliessmann]

To be exact, you need a 64bit Windows OS on a 64bit cpu.

Is there a reason that can be explained in a less-than-2-KB
posting? I mean why Python depends on the processor type that
much.

Regards,


Björn

 

[Christophe]

Bjoern Schliessmann a écrit :

Is there a reason that can be explained in a less-than-2-KB
posting? I mean why Python depends on the processor type that
much.

Regards,

Easy : a 64bit version of Windows cannot be installed on a non 64bit CPU

 

[John Machin]

Is there a reason that can be explained in a less-than-2-KB
posting? I mean why Python depends on the processor type that
much.

Python doesn't depend on the processor type in any sense that I
understand "depend".

Like many other large C applications, Python code makes heavy use of
the C preprocessor to cater for differences in operating systems,
runtime libraries, complier idio[syncra]cies, and (probably least
importantly) processor differences. One corpus of source code can be
used to create binaries for a large number of different combinations of
operating systems and processors.

For just one processor (the AMD64), you could have at least 4 different
binaries: (Windows/Linux) x (32|64) bit version of the OS.

HTH,
John

 

[=?ISO-8859-1?Q?=22Martin_v=2E_L=F6wis=22?=]

Is there a reason that can be explained in a less-than-2-KB
posting? I mean why Python depends on the processor type that
much.

In the AMD-64 package, python.exe, python25.dll etc are declared
(by the linker) as binaries for the AMD64 architecture. If
you try to run such a binary on a 32-bit system, the operating
system will complain that it can't recognize the file type
(or that the architecture is wrong). Likewise for Itanium.

OTOH, Microsoft implemented an emulation mode for 32-bit
binaries on AMD64 and Itanium, so you can run the 32-bit
Python on Win64. On Itanium, this emulation has a significant
performance loss; on AMD64, the emulation is quite efficient
since the processor directly supports the emulation mode
(and better so than Itanium 1/2 did).

Regards,
Martin

 

[Bryan Olson]

Is there a reason that can be explained in a less-than-2-KB
posting? I mean why Python depends on the processor type that
much.

The 64-bit version of Python is compiled for 64-bit processors.
32-bit processors don't work the same and won't run the code.

The O.P. has a 64-bit Athlon processor, but is running a 32-bit
OS. The processor emulates its 32-bit predecessor in "legacy
mode", so 32-bit software runs.

Given a 64-bit processor, why can't 64-bit applications run
under a 32-bit Operating System? Because the O.S. provides
the environment in which the application runs. There are
several problems: system calls could be probably be thunked
by a library, but the virtual memory space is a deal breaker.
A 32-bit O.S. deals with 32-bit addresses; it can't support
the address space of a 64-bit app.

Running a 32-bit O.S., the processor stays in 32-bit legacy
mode. Enabling the processor's 64-bit mode is a privileged
operation; the application cannot do it.


Incidentally, the other direction works pretty well: a
64-bit operating system can run 32-bit applications. The
AMD64 architecture, also adopted by Intel, has a
"compatibility mode" for creating 32-bit virtual address
spaces within the native 64-bit address space.

I'm close to the 2KB.
For more, search on "AMD64 Architecture".

 

[Bjoern Schliessmann]

The O.P. has a 64-bit Athlon processor, but is running a 32-bit
OS. The processor emulates its 32-bit predecessor in "legacy
mode", so 32-bit software runs.

Ah, of course. Thanks for all replies!

Regards,


Björn