[zahlman]

The launcher first appeared with Python 3.3. There was nothing like the python standalone build project at that point, and `venv` had also just been added to the standard library in the same version.

But it could and should have been redesigned at some point to include those kinds of things, sure. And the second best time to plant a tree is now.

Installations could be managed better on Windows, too. I can envision a cross-platform (rather, made separately available for each major platform) `py` tool which, on Windows, would set up Program Files with the `py` executable in an overall folder (added to PATH), and then subfolders where the actual Python version installations go. NTFS does support hard links and symbolic links (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTFS_links), so it could conceivably make the executables available directly, too. Then perhaps there could be a `py get` command to grab and run the installer for another version.

On Linux, of course, much the same, but using `/usr/{bin,lib}` in normal ways. Or perhaps `/usr/local/{bin,lib}`. (And the system would come with `py` as well as a specific Python version, and system scripts would have a `py -3.x` shebang.)