diff --git a/ap_examples/uda_basic/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMACompilerLinkerSettings.cmake b/ap_examples/uda_basic/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMACompilerLinkerSettings.cmake
index a8d73e05f..d8c387594 100644
--- a/ap_examples/uda_basic/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMACompilerLinkerSettings.cmake
+++ b/ap_examples/uda_basic/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMACompilerLinkerSettings.cmake
@@ -27,11 +27,6 @@ if(CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX)
     set(YACMA_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX TRUE)
 endif()
 
-# Detect the hcc compiler.
-if(YACMA_COMPILER_IS_CLANGXX AND "${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER}" MATCHES "hcc")
-    set(YACMA_COMPILER_IS_HCC TRUE)
-endif()
-
 # This is an OS X specific setting that is suggested to be enabled. See:
 # https://blog.kitware.com/upcoming-in-cmake-2-8-12-osx-rpath-support/
 # http://stackoverflow.com/questions/31561309/cmake-warnings-under-os-x-macosx-rpath-is-not-specified-for-the-following-targe
@@ -122,11 +117,7 @@ if(NOT _YACMACompilerLinkerSettingsRun)
         _YACMA_CHECK_ENABLE_DEBUG_CXX_FLAG(-Wdisabled-optimization)
         # This is useful when the compiler decides the template backtrace is too verbose.
         _YACMA_CHECK_ENABLE_DEBUG_CXX_FLAG(-ftemplate-backtrace-limit=0)
-        if(YACMA_COMPILER_IS_HCC)
-            message(STATUS "hcc compiler detected, the '-fstack-protector-all' flag will not be enabled.")
-        else()
-            _YACMA_CHECK_ENABLE_DEBUG_CXX_FLAG(-fstack-protector-all)
-        endif()
+        _YACMA_CHECK_ENABLE_DEBUG_CXX_FLAG(-fstack-protector-all)
         # A few suggestion flags.
         _YACMA_CHECK_ENABLE_DEBUG_CXX_FLAG(-Wsuggest-attribute=pure)
         _YACMA_CHECK_ENABLE_DEBUG_CXX_FLAG(-Wsuggest-attribute=const)
diff --git a/ap_examples/uda_basic/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMAPythonSetup.cmake b/ap_examples/uda_basic/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMAPythonSetup.cmake
index 199964324..2d31cebb3 100644
--- a/ap_examples/uda_basic/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMAPythonSetup.cmake
+++ b/ap_examples/uda_basic/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMAPythonSetup.cmake
@@ -3,11 +3,7 @@ if(YACMAPythonSetupIncluded)
 endif()
 
 # NOTE: this is a heuristic to determine whether we need to link to the Python library.
-# In theory, Python extensions don't need to, as they are dlopened() by the Python process
-# and thus they don't need to be linked to the Python library at compile time. However,
-# the dependency on Boost.Python muddies the waters, as BP itself does link to the Python
-# library, at least on some platforms. The following configuration seems to be working fine
-# on various CI setups.
+# The linking seems to be necessary only on Windows.
 if(WIN32)
   message(STATUS "Python modules require linking to the Python library.")
   set(_YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE_NEED_LINK TRUE)
@@ -40,6 +36,11 @@ else()
 endif()
 mark_as_advanced(YACMA_PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR)
 
+# Add an interface imported target for the
+# Python include dir.
+add_library(YACMA::PythonIncludeDir INTERFACE IMPORTED)
+set_target_properties(YACMA::PythonIncludeDir PROPERTIES INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES ${YACMA_PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR})
+
 message(STATUS "Python interpreter: ${PYTHON_EXECUTABLE}")
 message(STATUS "Python interpreter version: ${PYTHON_VERSION_STRING}")
 if(_YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE_NEED_LINK)
@@ -47,16 +48,6 @@ if(_YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE_NEED_LINK)
 endif()
 message(STATUS "Python include dir: ${YACMA_PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR}")
 
-# An imported target to be used when building extension modules.
-if(_YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE_NEED_LINK)
-  add_library(YACMA::PythonModule UNKNOWN IMPORTED)
-  set_target_properties(YACMA::PythonModule PROPERTIES INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES "${YACMA_PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR}"
-    IMPORTED_LOCATION "${PYTHON_LIBRARIES}" IMPORTED_LINK_INTERFACE_LANGUAGES "C")
-else()
-  add_library(YACMA::PythonModule INTERFACE IMPORTED)
-  set_target_properties(YACMA::PythonModule PROPERTIES INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES "${YACMA_PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR}")
-endif()
-
 # This flag is used to signal the need to override the default extension of the Python modules
 # depending on the architecture. Under Windows, for instance, CMake produces shared objects as
 # .dll files, but Python from 2.5 onwards requires .pyd files (hence the need to override).
@@ -123,11 +114,9 @@ function(YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE name)
     # with clang and gcc. See:
     # https://bugs.python.org/issue11149
     # http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-3123/
-    # NOTE: not sure here how we should set flags up for MSVC or clang on windows, need
-    # to check in the future.
     # NOTE: do not use the yacma compiler linker settings bits, so this module
     # can be used stand-alone.
-    if(CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX OR ${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID} MATCHES "Clang")
+    if(CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX OR (${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID} MATCHES "Clang" AND NOT MSVC))
         message(STATUS "Setting up extra compiler flag '-fwrapv' for the Python module '${name}'.")
         target_compile_options(${name} PRIVATE "-fwrapv")
         if(${PYTHON_VERSION_MAJOR} LESS 3)
@@ -143,7 +132,14 @@ function(YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE name)
       # https://cmake.org/pipermail/cmake/2017-March/065115.html
       set_target_properties(${name} PROPERTIES LINK_FLAGS "-undefined dynamic_lookup")
     endif()
-    target_link_libraries("${name}" PRIVATE YACMA::PythonModule)
+
+    # Add the Python include dirs.
+    target_include_directories("${name}" SYSTEM PRIVATE ${YACMA_PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR})
+
+    # Link to the Python libs, if necessary.
+    if(_YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE_NEED_LINK)
+      target_link_libraries("${name}" PRIVATE ${PYTHON_LIBRARIES})
+    endif()
 endfunction()
 
 # Mark as included.
diff --git a/ap_examples/udp_basic/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMACompilerLinkerSettings.cmake b/ap_examples/udp_basic/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMACompilerLinkerSettings.cmake
index a8d73e05f..d8c387594 100644
--- a/ap_examples/udp_basic/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMACompilerLinkerSettings.cmake
+++ b/ap_examples/udp_basic/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMACompilerLinkerSettings.cmake
@@ -27,11 +27,6 @@ if(CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX)
     set(YACMA_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX TRUE)
 endif()
 
-# Detect the hcc compiler.
-if(YACMA_COMPILER_IS_CLANGXX AND "${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER}" MATCHES "hcc")
-    set(YACMA_COMPILER_IS_HCC TRUE)
-endif()
-
 # This is an OS X specific setting that is suggested to be enabled. See:
 # https://blog.kitware.com/upcoming-in-cmake-2-8-12-osx-rpath-support/
 # http://stackoverflow.com/questions/31561309/cmake-warnings-under-os-x-macosx-rpath-is-not-specified-for-the-following-targe
@@ -122,11 +117,7 @@ if(NOT _YACMACompilerLinkerSettingsRun)
         _YACMA_CHECK_ENABLE_DEBUG_CXX_FLAG(-Wdisabled-optimization)
         # This is useful when the compiler decides the template backtrace is too verbose.
         _YACMA_CHECK_ENABLE_DEBUG_CXX_FLAG(-ftemplate-backtrace-limit=0)
-        if(YACMA_COMPILER_IS_HCC)
-            message(STATUS "hcc compiler detected, the '-fstack-protector-all' flag will not be enabled.")
-        else()
-            _YACMA_CHECK_ENABLE_DEBUG_CXX_FLAG(-fstack-protector-all)
-        endif()
+        _YACMA_CHECK_ENABLE_DEBUG_CXX_FLAG(-fstack-protector-all)
         # A few suggestion flags.
         _YACMA_CHECK_ENABLE_DEBUG_CXX_FLAG(-Wsuggest-attribute=pure)
         _YACMA_CHECK_ENABLE_DEBUG_CXX_FLAG(-Wsuggest-attribute=const)
diff --git a/ap_examples/udp_basic/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMAPythonSetup.cmake b/ap_examples/udp_basic/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMAPythonSetup.cmake
index 199964324..2d31cebb3 100644
--- a/ap_examples/udp_basic/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMAPythonSetup.cmake
+++ b/ap_examples/udp_basic/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMAPythonSetup.cmake
@@ -3,11 +3,7 @@ if(YACMAPythonSetupIncluded)
 endif()
 
 # NOTE: this is a heuristic to determine whether we need to link to the Python library.
-# In theory, Python extensions don't need to, as they are dlopened() by the Python process
-# and thus they don't need to be linked to the Python library at compile time. However,
-# the dependency on Boost.Python muddies the waters, as BP itself does link to the Python
-# library, at least on some platforms. The following configuration seems to be working fine
-# on various CI setups.
+# The linking seems to be necessary only on Windows.
 if(WIN32)
   message(STATUS "Python modules require linking to the Python library.")
   set(_YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE_NEED_LINK TRUE)
@@ -40,6 +36,11 @@ else()
 endif()
 mark_as_advanced(YACMA_PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR)
 
+# Add an interface imported target for the
+# Python include dir.
+add_library(YACMA::PythonIncludeDir INTERFACE IMPORTED)
+set_target_properties(YACMA::PythonIncludeDir PROPERTIES INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES ${YACMA_PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR})
+
 message(STATUS "Python interpreter: ${PYTHON_EXECUTABLE}")
 message(STATUS "Python interpreter version: ${PYTHON_VERSION_STRING}")
 if(_YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE_NEED_LINK)
@@ -47,16 +48,6 @@ if(_YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE_NEED_LINK)
 endif()
 message(STATUS "Python include dir: ${YACMA_PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR}")
 
-# An imported target to be used when building extension modules.
-if(_YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE_NEED_LINK)
-  add_library(YACMA::PythonModule UNKNOWN IMPORTED)
-  set_target_properties(YACMA::PythonModule PROPERTIES INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES "${YACMA_PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR}"
-    IMPORTED_LOCATION "${PYTHON_LIBRARIES}" IMPORTED_LINK_INTERFACE_LANGUAGES "C")
-else()
-  add_library(YACMA::PythonModule INTERFACE IMPORTED)
-  set_target_properties(YACMA::PythonModule PROPERTIES INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES "${YACMA_PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR}")
-endif()
-
 # This flag is used to signal the need to override the default extension of the Python modules
 # depending on the architecture. Under Windows, for instance, CMake produces shared objects as
 # .dll files, but Python from 2.5 onwards requires .pyd files (hence the need to override).
@@ -123,11 +114,9 @@ function(YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE name)
     # with clang and gcc. See:
     # https://bugs.python.org/issue11149
     # http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-3123/
-    # NOTE: not sure here how we should set flags up for MSVC or clang on windows, need
-    # to check in the future.
     # NOTE: do not use the yacma compiler linker settings bits, so this module
     # can be used stand-alone.
-    if(CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX OR ${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID} MATCHES "Clang")
+    if(CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX OR (${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID} MATCHES "Clang" AND NOT MSVC))
         message(STATUS "Setting up extra compiler flag '-fwrapv' for the Python module '${name}'.")
         target_compile_options(${name} PRIVATE "-fwrapv")
         if(${PYTHON_VERSION_MAJOR} LESS 3)
@@ -143,7 +132,14 @@ function(YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE name)
       # https://cmake.org/pipermail/cmake/2017-March/065115.html
       set_target_properties(${name} PROPERTIES LINK_FLAGS "-undefined dynamic_lookup")
     endif()
-    target_link_libraries("${name}" PRIVATE YACMA::PythonModule)
+
+    # Add the Python include dirs.
+    target_include_directories("${name}" SYSTEM PRIVATE ${YACMA_PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR})
+
+    # Link to the Python libs, if necessary.
+    if(_YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE_NEED_LINK)
+      target_link_libraries("${name}" PRIVATE ${PYTHON_LIBRARIES})
+    endif()
 endfunction()
 
 # Mark as included.
diff --git a/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMAPythonSetup.cmake b/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMAPythonSetup.cmake
index 697200c1b..2d31cebb3 100644
--- a/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMAPythonSetup.cmake
+++ b/cmake_modules/yacma/YACMAPythonSetup.cmake
@@ -3,11 +3,7 @@ if(YACMAPythonSetupIncluded)
 endif()
 
 # NOTE: this is a heuristic to determine whether we need to link to the Python library.
-# In theory, Python extensions don't need to, as they are dlopened() by the Python process
-# and thus they don't need to be linked to the Python library at compile time. However,
-# the dependency on Boost.Python muddies the waters, as BP itself does link to the Python
-# library, at least on some platforms. The following configuration seems to be working fine
-# on various CI setups.
+# The linking seems to be necessary only on Windows.
 if(WIN32)
   message(STATUS "Python modules require linking to the Python library.")
   set(_YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE_NEED_LINK TRUE)
@@ -40,6 +36,11 @@ else()
 endif()
 mark_as_advanced(YACMA_PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR)
 
+# Add an interface imported target for the
+# Python include dir.
+add_library(YACMA::PythonIncludeDir INTERFACE IMPORTED)
+set_target_properties(YACMA::PythonIncludeDir PROPERTIES INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES ${YACMA_PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR})
+
 message(STATUS "Python interpreter: ${PYTHON_EXECUTABLE}")
 message(STATUS "Python interpreter version: ${PYTHON_VERSION_STRING}")
 if(_YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE_NEED_LINK)
@@ -47,16 +48,6 @@ if(_YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE_NEED_LINK)
 endif()
 message(STATUS "Python include dir: ${YACMA_PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR}")
 
-# An imported target to be used when building extension modules.
-if(_YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE_NEED_LINK)
-  add_library(YACMA::PythonModule UNKNOWN IMPORTED)
-  set_target_properties(YACMA::PythonModule PROPERTIES INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES "${YACMA_PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR}"
-    IMPORTED_LOCATION "${PYTHON_LIBRARIES}" IMPORTED_LINK_INTERFACE_LANGUAGES "C")
-else()
-  add_library(YACMA::PythonModule INTERFACE IMPORTED)
-  set_target_properties(YACMA::PythonModule PROPERTIES INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES "${YACMA_PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR}")
-endif()
-
 # This flag is used to signal the need to override the default extension of the Python modules
 # depending on the architecture. Under Windows, for instance, CMake produces shared objects as
 # .dll files, but Python from 2.5 onwards requires .pyd files (hence the need to override).
@@ -141,7 +132,14 @@ function(YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE name)
       # https://cmake.org/pipermail/cmake/2017-March/065115.html
       set_target_properties(${name} PROPERTIES LINK_FLAGS "-undefined dynamic_lookup")
     endif()
-    target_link_libraries("${name}" PRIVATE YACMA::PythonModule)
+
+    # Add the Python include dirs.
+    target_include_directories("${name}" SYSTEM PRIVATE ${YACMA_PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR})
+
+    # Link to the Python libs, if necessary.
+    if(_YACMA_PYTHON_MODULE_NEED_LINK)
+      target_link_libraries("${name}" PRIVATE ${PYTHON_LIBRARIES})
+    endif()
 endfunction()
 
 # Mark as included.
diff --git a/pygmo/CMakeLists.txt b/pygmo/CMakeLists.txt
index 63f97f1ce..6515d3f0f 100644
--- a/pygmo/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/pygmo/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ configure_file("${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/config.hpp.in" "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINA
 
 # Setup of the header-only pygmo library.
 add_library(pygmo INTERFACE)
-target_link_libraries(pygmo INTERFACE Pagmo::pagmo ${PYGMO_BP_TARGET} Boost::disable_autolinking YACMA::PythonModule NumPy::numpy)
+target_link_libraries(pygmo INTERFACE Pagmo::pagmo ${PYGMO_BP_TARGET} Boost::disable_autolinking YACMA::PythonIncludeDir NumPy::numpy)
 target_include_directories(pygmo INTERFACE $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/../>
     $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/include/pygmo> $<INSTALL_INTERFACE:include>)
 # Setup of the export.