PyO3 / PyO3/pyo3

Embedding Python on Windows and spawning processes

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#983 6 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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Dominant language
Rust
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Description

Hi

After much frustration, I figured out why processes were failing to start when spawned through embedded python code on windows.

It seems that a small workaround is needed on windows in order to spawn new processes:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/15636266/embedded-python-multiprocessing-not-working

This is very briefly mentioned in the Python documentation:
https://docs.python.org/3/library/multiprocessing.html#multiprocessing.set_executable

I am not sure if the "workaround" has any side-effects or if it could be incorporated into the instantiation of Python specifically for windows?
An alternative would be putting a warning in the documentation stating that this must explicitly be configured in order to spawn processes on windows.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the linked Python multiprocessing.set_executable documentation and the Stack Overflow report, then trace PyO3's Windows-specific embedded-Python initialization and process-spawn entry points. Done means determining whether the workaround is safe to incorporate or documenting the required configuration and its Windows scope.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python, rust
Domain
operating-systems
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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