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Re: [pygame] py2exe, MSVCR71.dll and InnoSetup



There is no real problem here - this old concern of illegally distributing MSVCR71.dll with python has always been fear, uncertainty and doubt with no real foundation for concern.

If you are distributing MSVCR71.dll along with python (which you are), the license that allows the python developers to distribute it with python (which they do) allows you to then redistribute python and msvcr71.dll along with it, provided you comply with the license terms - which mostly amounts to you distributing your stuff with a license which is compatible with the original msvcr71.dll terms with respect to that dll, which means you're not giving your end-users any rights to distribute it independent of your product.

Basically, for the microsoft redistributable license to actually be useful to developers, it had to allow developers to give their product including the redistributable to others, and then allow those other people to redistribute the product. This is essential for being able to sell stuff in a store, and it's essential for being able to make a library or engine type of product. This happens with the microsoft c-run time dlls in hundreds and hundreds of products all over the world, and microsoft never sued any of them. Your case is not likely to be any different.

A better question is probably "what do I have to avoid to comply with the msvcr71.dll redistributable license", and on that side, the only thing you clearly can't do, is provide license terms that imply people can do whatever they want with msvcr71.dll, so don't do that. If you are the worrying type though, then dig up the original redistributable license from msvcr71.dll, and include that in your product. If you are the worrying type and the skeptical type, then also download the free msvc toolkit 2003 or buy visual studio 2003, so that now microsoft is licensing the dll to you as a redistributable, and then you can do what you want. If that's not good enough for you, then have fun wasting your time with installer gymnastics.


On Mon, Oct 25, 2010 at 12:16 PM, Johannes Charra <Johannes.Charra@xxxxxx> wrote:

Hi,

How do I distribute my Python game to Windows users without illegally distributing the MSVCR71.dll?

As far as my research went, one might e.g. build an InnoSetup installer which will include the installation of the MS Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable package. I tried that, but my game still won't run because the DLL cannot be found.

I'd be grateful for any comments on how you're solving the general MSVCR71.dll problem.

Furthermore, if anyone is going the same way as I do (InnoSetup + MS package installation), maybe he or she can give me a hint on how to make InnoSetup copy the DLL to my app directory after installing the redist package.

Best regards,
Johannes