mirror of https://github.com/python/cpython
184 lines
7.0 KiB
ReStructuredText
184 lines
7.0 KiB
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.. _using-on-mac:
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***************************
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Using Python on a Macintosh
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***************************
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:Author: Bob Savage <bobsavage@mac.com>
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Python on a Macintosh running Mac OS X is in principle very similar to Python on
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any other Unix platform, but there are a number of additional features such as
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the IDE and the Package Manager that are worth pointing out.
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.. _getting-osx:
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Getting and Installing MacPython
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================================
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Mac OS X 10.8 comes with Python 2.7 pre-installed by Apple. If you wish, you
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are invited to install the most recent version of Python 3 from the Python
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website (https://www.python.org). A current "universal binary" build of Python,
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which runs natively on the Mac's new Intel and legacy PPC CPU's, is available
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there.
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What you get after installing is a number of things:
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* A :file:`MacPython 3.6` folder in your :file:`Applications` folder. In here
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you find IDLE, the development environment that is a standard part of official
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Python distributions; PythonLauncher, which handles double-clicking Python
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scripts from the Finder; and the "Build Applet" tool, which allows you to
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package Python scripts as standalone applications on your system.
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* A framework :file:`/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework`, which includes the
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Python executable and libraries. The installer adds this location to your shell
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path. To uninstall MacPython, you can simply remove these three things. A
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symlink to the Python executable is placed in /usr/local/bin/.
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The Apple-provided build of Python is installed in
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:file:`/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework` and :file:`/usr/bin/python`,
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respectively. You should never modify or delete these, as they are
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Apple-controlled and are used by Apple- or third-party software. Remember that
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if you choose to install a newer Python version from python.org, you will have
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two different but functional Python installations on your computer, so it will
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be important that your paths and usages are consistent with what you want to do.
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IDLE includes a help menu that allows you to access Python documentation. If you
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are completely new to Python you should start reading the tutorial introduction
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in that document.
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If you are familiar with Python on other Unix platforms you should read the
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section on running Python scripts from the Unix shell.
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How to run a Python script
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--------------------------
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Your best way to get started with Python on Mac OS X is through the IDLE
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integrated development environment, see section :ref:`ide` and use the Help menu
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when the IDE is running.
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If you want to run Python scripts from the Terminal window command line or from
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the Finder you first need an editor to create your script. Mac OS X comes with a
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number of standard Unix command line editors, :program:`vim` and
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:program:`emacs` among them. If you want a more Mac-like editor,
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:program:`BBEdit` or :program:`TextWrangler` from Bare Bones Software (see
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http://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/index.html) are good choices, as is
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:program:`TextMate` (see https://macromates.com/). Other editors include
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:program:`Gvim` (http://macvim-dev.github.io/macvim/) and :program:`Aquamacs`
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(http://aquamacs.org/).
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To run your script from the Terminal window you must make sure that
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:file:`/usr/local/bin` is in your shell search path.
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To run your script from the Finder you have two options:
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* Drag it to :program:`PythonLauncher`
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* Select :program:`PythonLauncher` as the default application to open your
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script (or any .py script) through the finder Info window and double-click it.
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:program:`PythonLauncher` has various preferences to control how your script is
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launched. Option-dragging allows you to change these for one invocation, or use
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its Preferences menu to change things globally.
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.. _osx-gui-scripts:
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Running scripts with a GUI
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--------------------------
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With older versions of Python, there is one Mac OS X quirk that you need to be
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aware of: programs that talk to the Aqua window manager (in other words,
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anything that has a GUI) need to be run in a special way. Use :program:`pythonw`
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instead of :program:`python` to start such scripts.
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With Python 3.6, you can use either :program:`python` or :program:`pythonw`.
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Configuration
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-------------
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Python on OS X honors all standard Unix environment variables such as
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:envvar:`PYTHONPATH`, but setting these variables for programs started from the
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Finder is non-standard as the Finder does not read your :file:`.profile` or
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:file:`.cshrc` at startup. You need to create a file
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:file:`~/.MacOSX/environment.plist`. See Apple's Technical Document QA1067 for
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details.
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For more information on installation Python packages in MacPython, see section
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:ref:`mac-package-manager`.
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.. _ide:
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The IDE
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=======
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MacPython ships with the standard IDLE development environment. A good
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introduction to using IDLE can be found at
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http://www.hashcollision.org/hkn/python/idle_intro/index.html.
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.. _mac-package-manager:
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Installing Additional Python Packages
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=====================================
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There are several methods to install additional Python packages:
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* Packages can be installed via the standard Python distutils mode (``python
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setup.py install``).
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* Many packages can also be installed via the :program:`setuptools` extension
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or :program:`pip` wrapper, see https://pip.pypa.io/.
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GUI Programming on the Mac
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==========================
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There are several options for building GUI applications on the Mac with Python.
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*PyObjC* is a Python binding to Apple's Objective-C/Cocoa framework, which is
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the foundation of most modern Mac development. Information on PyObjC is
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available from https://pythonhosted.org/pyobjc/.
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The standard Python GUI toolkit is :mod:`tkinter`, based on the cross-platform
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Tk toolkit (https://www.tcl.tk). An Aqua-native version of Tk is bundled with OS
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X by Apple, and the latest version can be downloaded and installed from
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https://www.activestate.com; it can also be built from source.
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*wxPython* is another popular cross-platform GUI toolkit that runs natively on
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Mac OS X. Packages and documentation are available from https://www.wxpython.org.
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*PyQt* is another popular cross-platform GUI toolkit that runs natively on Mac
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OS X. More information can be found at
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https://riverbankcomputing.com/software/pyqt/intro.
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Distributing Python Applications on the Mac
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===========================================
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The "Build Applet" tool that is placed in the MacPython 3.6 folder is fine for
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packaging small Python scripts on your own machine to run as a standard Mac
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application. This tool, however, is not robust enough to distribute Python
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applications to other users.
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The standard tool for deploying standalone Python applications on the Mac is
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:program:`py2app`. More information on installing and using py2app can be found
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at http://undefined.org/python/#py2app.
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Other Resources
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===============
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The MacPython mailing list is an excellent support resource for Python users and
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developers on the Mac:
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https://www.python.org/community/sigs/current/pythonmac-sig/
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Another useful resource is the MacPython wiki:
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https://wiki.python.org/moin/MacPython
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