title: Compiling Python Extension On Windows With Cygwin
body: <p>I have been having a terrible time trying to compile a python extension - hopefully someone can help.</p>
  
  <p>I initially tried executing 'python.exe setup.py build' but received the error: 'Python was built Visual Studio 2003; extensions must be built with a compiler that can generate compatible binaries...".</p>
  
  <p>So I then downloaded Cygwin, and have tried sending the switch '-c mingw32'.  A few lines were written into the console - then I get the error message: command 'gcc' failed: Permission denied.</p>
  
  <p>I was initially using the Visual Studio 2010 Command Line to do this, but tried with bash and got the same result.</p>
  
  <p>I have spent a considerable amount of time researching the issue, and it appears Cygwin uses symlinks for gcc and g++, and windows doesn't understand how to handle this.  </p>
  
  <p>How exactly can I force setup.py to use gcc-3.exe instead of the gcc.exe symlink?</p>