Downloads don't specify which specific Python version is used

[Ffisegydd]

Downloads from http://matplotlib.org/downloads.html don't specify which Python version is used, for example matplotlib-1.4.2.win-amd64-py3.4.exe only specifies Python 3.4, not whether it is 3.4.0, 3.4.1, or 3.4.2.

This came up as an issue in a Stack Overflow question here

It would be nice if the download files specified explicitly which Python version they are for, one could guess that it is for the most recent (3.4.2 at time of writing) but it's still only a guess.

Thanks.

Ffisegydd.

[tacaswell]

cc @cgohlke

[cgohlke]

matplotlib-1.4.2.win-amd64-py3.4.exe will install for 64 bit CPython 3.4.0, 3.4.1, and 3.4.2. No need to specify the micro version. The installer GUI will show the Python/distutils version on the first window in case one really wants to know...

[WeatherGod]

As I commented in the SO posting, I suspect that this is more an issue with
the installer borking on bugfix version numbers rather than an actual
incompatibility.

On Wed, Oct 29, 2014 at 1:08 PM, Christoph Gohlke notifications@github.com
wrote:

matplotlib-1.4.2.win-amd64-py3.4.exe will install for 64 bit CPython
3.4.0, 3.4.1, and 3.4.2. No need to specify the micro version. The
installer GUI will show the Python/distutils version on the first window in
case one really wants to know...

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[cgohlke]

The bdist_wininst installers do not use micro (bugfix) version numbers. The installer relies on Windows Registry entries created by the CPython installer to locate an compatible installation. The registry entries are not using micro numbers, but they are different for 32/64 bit and major.minor versions, which prevents installing for the wrong CPython platform. I do not see anything specifically wrong with the matplotlib installers. On my test system matplotlib-1.4.2.win-amd64-py3.4.exe installs on top of installed python-3.4.0.amd64.msi.

[matthew-brett]

Christophe - do then have any idea how the SO poster ran into trouble? Presumably they are doing the same thing are you are?

[cgohlke]

The SO question does not mention the specific Python and matplotlib installers used. Most likely the bitness does not match. Less likely Python was installed in user mode under a different user account. Or the registry settings got lost... I do not think the SO answer is correct.
For reference, the bdist_wininst source code is at https://hg.python.org/cpython/file/9d36bf887be3/PC/bdist_wininst/install.c

[Ffisegydd]

Updating to 3.4.2 seemed to fix it for the user, though it could well be that updating was a side-effect which in fact simply fixed something else (one of the problems that @cgohlke mentioned). I can't test anything myself, unfortunately, as I'm not on a Windows machine at the moment.

[Ffisegydd]

I managed to test it on my Windows machine this morning and found you were correct, I successfully installed the latest matplotlib with Python 3.4.0.

I've edited my answer to the question to take into account the new information, and linked back to this issue.

Thanks for the help, and sorry for raising what is in-fact a non-issue.