Address some feedback about the early history

Co-authored-by: h-vetinari <[email protected]>
Co-authored-by: pelson <[email protected]>
Co-authored-by: Jason K. Moore <[email protected]>

Author: 4 people

community/history.md

@@ -6,13 +6,18 @@ title: History
 
 conda-forge's origins cannot be explained without understanding the context of Python packaging back in the early 2010s. Back then, the installation of Python packages across operating systems was very challenging, specially on Windows, as it often meant compiling dependencies from source.
 
-Python 2.x was the norm, the community was transitioning from `easy_install` to `pip`, and there wouldn't be an alternative for Python eggs [^eggs] until 2012, when wheels are introduced [^wheels]. To get Python, you'd get the official installers from Python.org, stick to the system provided one in Linux, or resort to ActiveState's or Enthought's distributions in macOS and Windows [^legacy-python-downloads].
+Python 2.x was the norm. To install it, you'd get the official installers from Python.org, stick to the system provided one in Linux, or resort to options like Python(x,y) [^pythonxy], ActiveState ActivePython [^activepython] or Enthought's distributions [^enthought] in macOS and Windows [^legacy-python-downloads].
+
+If you wanted to install additional packages, you would find that the community was transitioning from `easy_install` to `pip`, and there wouldn't be an alternative for Python eggs [^eggs] until 2013, when wheels are formalized [^wheels].
+Realistically, you would have to wait until 2016, when `manylinux` wheels were introduced. For Windows, 
+
+Before then, there was no easy way to ship pre-compiled Python packages: you would need to compile from source. If you were on Windows, Christoph Gohlke's wheels [^cgohlke]<sup>,</sup>[^cgohlke-shutdown] were your only choice.
 
 ## The origins of `conda`
 
 In 2012, Continuum Analytics announces Anaconda 0.8 in the SciPy conference [^anaconda-history]. Later that year, in September, Continuum would release `conda` 1.0, the cross-platform, language-agnostic package manager for pre-compiled artifacts [^conda-changelog-1.0]. The motivation behind these efforts was to provide an easy way to ship all the compiled libraries and Python packages that users of the SciPy and numpy stacks needed [^packaging-and-deployment-with-conda] [^lex-fridman-podcast].
 
-In constrast with Python eggs and wheels, conda packages were agnostic enough to ship Python itself, as well as the underlying shared libraries without having to statically vendor them under each Python package. This was particularly convenient for projects that relied on both compiled dependencies (e.g. C++ or Fortran libraries) and Python "glue code".
+Conda packages were not only able to ship pre-compiled Python packages across platforms. They were agnostic enough to ship Python itself, as well as the underlying shared libraries without having to statically vendor them under each Python package. This was particularly convenient for projects that relied on both compiled dependencies (e.g. C++ or Fortran libraries) and Python "glue code".
 
 By June 2013, conda is using a SAT solver and includes the `conda build` subcommand [^new-advances-in-conda], along with the concept of recipes [^conda-recipes-repo] [^early-conda-build-docs]. This is also when the first Miniconda release is announced. By the end of the year, Continuum Analytics announces Binstar.org, the predecessor of the Anaconda.org channels. This meant that now any user could build their software stack as conda packages and redistribute them online at no cost.
 
@@ -28,7 +33,8 @@ In 2014, Filipe Fernandes ([@ocefpaf](https://github.com/ocefpaf)) and Phil Elso
 
 ## References
 
-[^cgohlke-shutdown]: [Christoph Gohlke's Windows Wheels site is shutting down by the end of the month](https://www.reddit.com/r/Python/comments/vcaibq/christoph_gohlkes_windows_wheels_site_is_shutting/), 2022.
+[^cgohlke]: https://www.cgohlke.com/, 2025.
+[^cgohlke-shutdown]: [What to do when Gohlke's python wheel service shuts down?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/72581592/what-to-do-when-gohlkes-python-wheel-service-shuts-down), 2022.
 [^anaconda-history]: [The Early History of the Anaconda Distribution](http://ilan.schnell-web.net/prog/anaconda-history/), Ilan Schnell, 2018.
 [^lex-fridman-podcast]: [Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFEE3w7F0ww&t=7596s), Lex Fridman Podcast #224, 2022.
 [^conda-changelog-1.0]: [`conda` 1.0 release notes](https://github.com/conda/conda/blob/24.7.1/CHANGELOG.md#100-2012-09-06), 2012.
@@ -44,3 +50,6 @@ In 2014, Filipe Fernandes ([@ocefpaf](https://github.com/ocefpaf)) and Phil Elso
 [^wheels]: [PEP 427 – The Wheel Binary Package Format 1.0](https://peps.python.org/pep-0427/)
 [^eggs]: [The Internal Structure of Python Eggs](https://setuptools.pypa.io/en/latest/deprecated/python_eggs.html).
 [^legacy-python-downloads]: [Download Python for Windows (legacy docs)](https://legacy.python.org/download/windows/).
+[^pythonxy]: https://python-xy.github.io/, 2015.
+[^activepython]: https://www.activestate.com/platform/supported-languages/python/
+[^enthought]: https://docs.enthought.com/canopy/