Unable to get Cython Debugger extension working under Windows 10

Hello,

I'm a very new Python hobbyist developer, so it's very likely I'm getting something wrong but many hours of searching and trying to cobble together a solution have left me at my wit's end. 

Problem Description

Whenever I debug a Python script, I get the prompt that installing the Cython extension speeds up debugging. However any attempt to install it generates the following stack trace error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "setup_cython.py", line 111, in <module>
build_extension("_pydevd_bundle", extension_name, target_pydevd_name, force_cython, extension_folder, True)
File "setup_cython.py", line 82, in build_extension
setup(
File "C:\msys64\mingw64\lib\python3.8\site-packages\setuptools\__init__.py", line 161, in setup
return distutils.core.setup(**attrs)
File "C:\msys64\mingw64\lib\python3.8\distutils\core.py", line 148, in setup
dist.run_commands()
File "C:\msys64\mingw64\lib\python3.8\distutils\dist.py", line 966, in run_commands
self.run_command(cmd)
File "C:\msys64\mingw64\lib\python3.8\distutils\dist.py", line 985, in run_command
cmd_obj.run()
File "C:\msys64\mingw64\lib\python3.8\site-packages\setuptools\command\build_ext.py", line 87, in run
_build_ext.run(self)
File "C:\msys64\mingw64\lib\python3.8\distutils\command\build_ext.py", line 307, in run
self.compiler = new_compiler(compiler=self.compiler,
File "C:\msys64\mingw64\lib\python3.8\distutils\ccompiler.py", line 1034, in new_compiler
return klass(None, dry_run, force)
File "C:\msys64\mingw64\lib\python3.8\distutils\cygwinccompiler.py", line 310, in __init__
CygwinCCompiler.__init__ (self, verbose, dry_run, force)
File "C:\msys64\mingw64\lib\python3.8\distutils\cygwinccompiler.py", line 127, in __init__
if self.ld_version >= "2.10.90":
TypeError: '>=' not supported between instances of 'NoneType' and 'str'

The self.ld error is usually due to a misconfigured gcc install but all the usual fixes don't seem to work for me.

Troubleshooting / Steps to Reproduce(?):

1. Install gcc via MSYS2.
2. Ensure that "C:\msys64", "C:\msys64\mingw64\bin" and "C:\msys64\usr\bin" are in my PATH
3. Confirm that the following commands all work from Command Prompt: 

   gcc -dumpversion
   ld -v
   dllwrap -version

4. Patch "C:\Python38\Lib\distutils\cygwinccompiler.py" as per this StackOverflow post.
5. Add a distutils.cfg file in C:\Python38\Lib\distutils with the following content:

   [build]
   compiler=mingw32.exe
   #Tried with & without trailing .exe

6. Run python3 setup_cython.py build_ext --inplace --compiler=mingw32 in <PYCHARM_INSTALLATION_PATH>

Version Info:

• Windows 10 (1903)
• PyCharm 2020.1.1
• Python 3.8.3
• gcc 9.3.0
• ld 2.34
• dllwrap 2.34

Can someone help me figure out what I'm doing wrong?

At this point, the tip on using Cython to speed up debugging feels like less a tip and more like a taunt :-/