diff --git a/Include/Python.h b/Include/Python.h
index 3f0fd9b1f0d..548ac756cb1 100644
--- a/Include/Python.h
+++ b/Include/Python.h
@@ -146,4 +146,14 @@
 /* GNU pth user-space thread support */
 #include <pth.h>
 #endif
+
+/* Define macros for inline documentation. */
+#define PyDoc_VAR(name) static char name[]
+#define PyDoc_STRVAR(name,str) PyDoc_VAR(name) = PyDoc_STR(str)
+#ifdef WITH_DOC_STRINGS
+#define PyDoc_STR(str) str
+#else
+#define PyDoc_STR(str) ""
+#endif
+
 #endif /* !Py_PYTHON_H */
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index 4523d3cfe05..051643a9865 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -240,6 +240,10 @@ Tools/Demos
 
 Build
 
+- The configure option --without-doc-strings can be used to remove the
+  doc strings from the builtin functions and modules; this reduces the
+  size of the executable.
+
 - XXX WITH_UNIVERSAL_NEWLINES Somebody fill this in; the PEP doesn't
   say how or when to configure it, or how to turn it off.
 
diff --git a/Python/sysmodule.c b/Python/sysmodule.c
index 0469c7f654f..04c643f3895 100644
--- a/Python/sysmodule.c
+++ b/Python/sysmodule.c
@@ -103,10 +103,11 @@ sys_displayhook(PyObject *self, PyObject *o)
 	return Py_None;
 }
 
-static char displayhook_doc[] =
+PyDoc_STRVAR(displayhook_doc,
 "displayhook(object) -> None\n"
 "\n"
-"Print an object to sys.stdout and also save it in __builtin__._\n";
+"Print an object to sys.stdout and also save it in __builtin__._\n"
+);
 
 static PyObject *
 sys_excepthook(PyObject* self, PyObject* args)
@@ -119,10 +120,11 @@ sys_excepthook(PyObject* self, PyObject* args)
 	return Py_None;
 }
 
-static char excepthook_doc[] =
+PyDoc_STRVAR(excepthook_doc,
 "excepthook(exctype, value, traceback) -> None\n"
 "\n"
-"Handle an exception by displaying it with a traceback on sys.stderr.\n";
+"Handle an exception by displaying it with a traceback on sys.stderr.\n"
+);
 
 static PyObject *
 sys_exc_info(PyObject *self)
@@ -137,11 +139,12 @@ sys_exc_info(PyObject *self)
 			tstate->exc_traceback : Py_None);
 }
 
-static char exc_info_doc[] =
+PyDoc_STRVAR(exc_info_doc,
 "exc_info() -> (type, value, traceback)\n\
 \n\
 Return information about the exception that is currently being handled.\n\
-This should be called from inside an except clause only.";
+This should be called from inside an except clause only."
+);
 
 static PyObject *
 sys_exit(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
@@ -154,14 +157,15 @@ sys_exit(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
 	return NULL;
 }
 
-static char exit_doc[] =
+PyDoc_STRVAR(exit_doc,
 "exit([status])\n\
 \n\
 Exit the interpreter by raising SystemExit(status).\n\
 If the status is omitted or None, it defaults to zero (i.e., success).\n\
 If the status is numeric, it will be used as the system exit status.\n\
 If it is another kind of object, it will be printed and the system\n\
-exit status will be one (i.e., failure).";
+exit status will be one (i.e., failure)."
+);
 
 #ifdef Py_USING_UNICODE
 
@@ -171,11 +175,12 @@ sys_getdefaultencoding(PyObject *self)
 	return PyString_FromString(PyUnicode_GetDefaultEncoding());
 }
 
-static char getdefaultencoding_doc[] =
+PyDoc_STRVAR(getdefaultencoding_doc,
 "getdefaultencoding() -> string\n\
 \n\
 Return the current default string encoding used by the Unicode \n\
-implementation.";
+implementation."
+);
 
 static PyObject *
 sys_setdefaultencoding(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
@@ -189,10 +194,11 @@ sys_setdefaultencoding(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
 	return Py_None;
 }
 
-static char setdefaultencoding_doc[] =
+PyDoc_STRVAR(setdefaultencoding_doc,
 "setdefaultencoding(encoding)\n\
 \n\
-Set the current default string encoding used by the Unicode implementation.";
+Set the current default string encoding used by the Unicode implementation."
+);
 
 #endif
 
@@ -316,11 +322,12 @@ sys_settrace(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
 	return Py_None;
 }
 
-static char settrace_doc[] =
+PyDoc_STRVAR(settrace_doc,
 "settrace(function)\n\
 \n\
 Set the global debug tracing function.  It will be called on each\n\
-function call.  See the debugger chapter in the library manual.";
+function call.  See the debugger chapter in the library manual."
+);
 
 static PyObject *
 sys_setprofile(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
@@ -335,11 +342,12 @@ sys_setprofile(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
 	return Py_None;
 }
 
-static char setprofile_doc[] =
+PyDoc_STRVAR(setprofile_doc,
 "setprofile(function)\n\
 \n\
 Set the profiling function.  It will be called on each function call\n\
-and return.  See the profiler chapter in the library manual.";
+and return.  See the profiler chapter in the library manual."
+);
 
 static PyObject *
 sys_setcheckinterval(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
@@ -351,11 +359,12 @@ sys_setcheckinterval(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
 	return Py_None;
 }
 
-static char setcheckinterval_doc[] =
+PyDoc_STRVAR(setcheckinterval_doc,
 "setcheckinterval(n)\n\
 \n\
 Tell the Python interpreter to check for asynchronous events every\n\
-n instructions.  This also affects how often thread switches occur.";
+n instructions.  This also affects how often thread switches occur."
+);
 
 static PyObject *
 sys_setrecursionlimit(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
@@ -373,13 +382,14 @@ sys_setrecursionlimit(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
 	return Py_None;
 }
 
-static char setrecursionlimit_doc[] =
+PyDoc_STRVAR(setrecursionlimit_doc,
 "setrecursionlimit(n)\n\
 \n\
 Set the maximum depth of the Python interpreter stack to n.  This\n\
 limit prevents infinite recursion from causing an overflow of the C\n\
 stack and crashing Python.  The highest possible limit is platform-\n\
-dependent.";
+dependent."
+);
 
 static PyObject *
 sys_getrecursionlimit(PyObject *self)
@@ -387,12 +397,13 @@ sys_getrecursionlimit(PyObject *self)
 	return PyInt_FromLong(Py_GetRecursionLimit());
 }
 
-static char getrecursionlimit_doc[] =
+PyDoc_STRVAR(getrecursionlimit_doc,
 "getrecursionlimit()\n\
 \n\
 Return the current value of the recursion limit, the maximum depth\n\
 of the Python interpreter stack.  This limit prevents infinite\n\
 recursion from causing an overflow of the C stack and crashing Python.";
+);
 
 #ifdef HAVE_DLOPEN
 static PyObject *
@@ -409,14 +420,15 @@ sys_setdlopenflags(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
 	return Py_None;
 }
 
-static char setdlopenflags_doc[] =
+PyDoc_STRVAR(setdlopenflags_doc,
 "setdlopenflags(n) -> None\n\
 \n\
 Set the flags that will be used for dlopen() calls. Among other\n\
 things, this will enable a lazy resolving of symbols when importing\n\
 a module, if called as sys.setdlopenflags(0)\n\
 To share symbols across extension modules, call as\n\
-sys.setdlopenflags(dl.RTLD_NOW|dl.RTLD_GLOBAL)";
+sys.setdlopenflags(dl.RTLD_NOW|dl.RTLD_GLOBAL)"
+);
 
 static PyObject *
 sys_getdlopenflags(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
@@ -427,11 +439,12 @@ sys_getdlopenflags(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
         return PyInt_FromLong(tstate->interp->dlopenflags);
 }
 
-static char getdlopenflags_doc[] =
+PyDoc_STRVAR(getdlopenflags_doc,
 "getdlopenflags() -> int\n\
 \n\
 Return the current value of the flags that are used for dlopen()\n\
-calls. The flag constants are defined in the dl module.";
+calls. The flag constants are defined in the dl module."
+);
 #endif
 
 #ifdef USE_MALLOPT
@@ -466,11 +479,12 @@ sys_gettotalrefcount(PyObject *self)
 
 #endif /* Py_TRACE_REFS */
 
-static char getrefcount_doc[] =
+PyDoc_STRVAR(getrefcount_doc,
 "getrefcount(object) -> integer\n\
 \n\
 Return the current reference count for the object.  This includes the\n\
-temporary reference in the argument list, so it is at least 2.";
+temporary reference in the argument list, so it is at least 2."
+);
 
 #ifdef COUNT_ALLOCS
 static PyObject *
@@ -482,7 +496,7 @@ sys_getcounts(PyObject *self)
 }
 #endif
 
-static char getframe_doc[] =
+PyDoc_STRVAR(getframe_doc,
 "_getframe([depth]) -> frameobject\n\
 \n\
 Return a frame object from the call stack.  If optional integer depth is\n\
@@ -491,7 +505,8 @@ If that is deeper than the call stack, ValueError is raised.  The default\n\
 for depth is zero, returning the frame at the top of the call stack.\n\
 \n\
 This function should be used for internal and specialized\n\
-purposes only.";
+purposes only."
+);
 
 static PyObject *
 sys_getframe(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
@@ -633,7 +648,8 @@ PySys_AddWarnOption(char *s)
    Two literals concatenated works just fine.  If you have a K&R compiler
    or other abomination that however *does* understand longer strings,
    get rid of the !!! comment in the middle and the quotes that surround it. */
-static char sys_doc[] =
+PyDoc_VAR(sys_doc) =
+PyDoc_STR(
 "This module provides access to some objects used or maintained by the\n\
 interpreter and to functions that interact strongly with the interpreter.\n\
 \n\
@@ -669,8 +685,10 @@ exc_traceback -- traceback of exception currently being handled\n\
   The function exc_info() should be used instead of these three,\n\
   because it is thread-safe.\n\
 "
+)
 #ifndef MS_WIN16
 /* concatenating string here */
+PyDoc_STR(
 "\n\
 Static objects:\n\
 \n\
@@ -686,12 +704,16 @@ executable -- pathname of this Python interpreter\n\
 prefix -- prefix used to find the Python library\n\
 exec_prefix -- prefix used to find the machine-specific Python library\n\
 "
+)
 #ifdef MS_WINDOWS
 /* concatenating string here */
+PyDoc_STR(
 "dllhandle -- [Windows only] integer handle of the Python DLL\n\
 winver -- [Windows only] version number of the Python DLL\n\
 "
+)
 #endif /* MS_WINDOWS */
+PyDoc_STR(
 "__stdin__ -- the original stdin; don't touch!\n\
 __stdout__ -- the original stdout; don't touch!\n\
 __stderr__ -- the original stderr; don't touch!\n\
@@ -713,6 +735,7 @@ setprofile() -- set the global profiling function\n\
 setrecursionlimit() -- set the max recursion depth for the interpreter\n\
 settrace() -- set the global debug tracing function\n\
 "
+)
 #endif /* MS_WIN16 */
 /* end of sys_doc */ ;
 
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 6dc7caef516..b08af5d62d8 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #! /bin/sh
-# From configure.in Revision: 1.320 .
+# From configure.in Revision: 1.321 .
 # Guess values for system-dependent variables and create Makefiles.
 # Generated by GNU Autoconf 2.53.
 #
@@ -845,6 +845,7 @@ Optional Packages:
   --with-pth                      use GNU pth threading libraries
   --with(out)-cycle-gc            disable/enable garbage collection
   --with(out)-universal-newlines            disable/enable foreign newlines
+  --with(out)-doc-strings         disable/enable documentation strings
   --with(out)-pymalloc            disable/enable specialized mallocs
   --with-wctype-functions         use wctype.h functions
   --with-sgi-dl=DIRECTORY         IRIX 4 dynamic linking
@@ -10964,6 +10965,30 @@ fi
 echo "$as_me:$LINENO: result: $with_universal_newlines" >&5
 echo "${ECHO_T}$with_universal_newlines" >&6
 
+# Check for --with-doc-strings
+echo "$as_me:$LINENO: checking for --with-doc-strings" >&5
+echo $ECHO_N "checking for --with-doc-strings... $ECHO_C" >&6
+
+# Check whether --with-doc-strings or --without-doc-strings was given.
+if test "${with_doc_strings+set}" = set; then
+  withval="$with_doc_strings"
+
+fi;
+
+if test -z "$with_doc_strings"
+then with_doc_strings="yes"
+fi
+if test "$with_doc_strings" != "no"
+then
+
+cat >>confdefs.h <<\_ACEOF
+#define WITH_DOC_STRINGS 1
+_ACEOF
+
+fi
+echo "$as_me:$LINENO: result: $with_doc_strings" >&5
+echo "${ECHO_T}$with_doc_strings" >&6
+
 # Check for Python-specific malloc support
 echo "$as_me:$LINENO: checking for --with-pymalloc" >&5
 echo $ECHO_N "checking for --with-pymalloc... $ECHO_C" >&6
diff --git a/configure.in b/configure.in
index 609ffcb9f5d..55f1f5522ce 100644
--- a/configure.in
+++ b/configure.in
@@ -1455,6 +1455,21 @@ then
 fi
 AC_MSG_RESULT($with_universal_newlines)
 
+# Check for --with-doc-strings
+AC_MSG_CHECKING(for --with-doc-strings)
+AC_ARG_WITH(doc-strings,
+[  --with(out)-doc-strings         disable/enable documentation strings])
+
+if test -z "$with_doc_strings"
+then with_doc_strings="yes"
+fi
+if test "$with_doc_strings" != "no"
+then
+    AC_DEFINE(WITH_DOC_STRINGS, 1,
+      [Define if you want documentation strings in extension modules])
+fi
+AC_MSG_RESULT($with_doc_strings)
+
 # Check for Python-specific malloc support
 AC_MSG_CHECKING(for --with-pymalloc)
 AC_ARG_WITH(pymalloc,
diff --git a/pyconfig.h.in b/pyconfig.h.in
index 86bd6c8ddbc..02ef48012b4 100644
--- a/pyconfig.h.in
+++ b/pyconfig.h.in
@@ -726,6 +726,9 @@
    SunOS 4 or 5, they already have dynamic linking using shared libraries. */
 #undef WITH_DL_DLD
 
+/* Define if you want documentation strings in extension modules */
+#undef WITH_DOC_STRINGS
+
 /* Define if you want to use the new-style (Openstep, Rhapsody, MacOS) dynamic
    linker (dyld) instead of the old-style (NextStep) dynamic linker (rld).
    Dyld is necessary to support frameworks. */