Despite more than half of Python's users being on Windows, it is generally believed that you can't do it. In this session, Steve provides an overview of why it's not as bad as people think, and the specific things you can do today to make sure your projects work well for ALL Python users, no matter where they work.
Packages that won't install, encodings that don't work, installers that ask too many questions, and having to own a PC are all great reasons to just ignore Windows. Or they would be, if they were true.
Despite community perception, more than half of Python usage still happens on Windows, including web development, system administration, and data science, just like on Linux and Mac. And for the most part, Python works the same regardless of what operating system you happen to be using. Still, many library developers will unnecessarily exclude half of their potential audience by not even attempting to be compatible.
This session will walk through the things to be aware of when creating cross-platform libraries. From simple things like using pathlib rather than bytestrings, through to all the ways you can get builds and tests running on Windows for free, by the end of this session you will have a checklist of easy tasks for your project that will really enable the whole Python world to benefit from your work.