mirror of https://github.com/python/cpython
188 lines
7.6 KiB
Plaintext
188 lines
7.6 KiB
Plaintext
How to install Python 1.6a1 on your Macintosh
|
|
---------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
If this is your first encounter with Python: you definitely need the
|
|
common user documentation (common to all platforms). You can find this
|
|
(in various forms) on www.python.org and ftp.python.org. Through
|
|
there, or via http://www.cwi.nl/~jack/macpython.html you can also find
|
|
the most recent MacPython distribution.
|
|
|
|
Mac-specific documentation is included in this distribution in folder
|
|
Mac:Demo. The documentation is sparse, but it will have to serve for
|
|
now. The documentation is in HTML format, start with index.html.
|
|
|
|
Caveats
|
|
-------
|
|
This is an alfa version, and for this once it really means that: there
|
|
are quite a few features that have only lightly been tested, and bugs are
|
|
to be expected.
|
|
|
|
Aside from the general Python 1.6 features like unicode support the
|
|
main new features of this MacPython release is support for multithreading.
|
|
This has not been tested very well.
|
|
|
|
This installer installs MacPython for PowerPC only, whether a 68K distribution
|
|
of Python 1.6 will happen is not certain at the moment. There is no Tkinter
|
|
in this installer.
|
|
|
|
All references to 68k, cfm68k and Tkinter in this document and in the
|
|
installer should be ignored: it really isn't there.
|
|
|
|
What to install
|
|
---------------
|
|
|
|
There are three flavors of Python: PowerPC, cfm68k and Classic 68k
|
|
(the FAT flavor is just a combination of the first two, which is handy
|
|
if you want to install Python on a fileserver or so). 68K-mac owners
|
|
should definitely use the cfm68k version if possible, since it enables
|
|
the use of applets and dynamically loaded modules and usually has a
|
|
smaller memory footprint. If you have an older system than MacOS 8 it
|
|
does however need the CFM68K Runtime Enabler which is available from
|
|
Apple (available for free from
|
|
<http://support.info.apple.com/ftp/swhome.html>, included since MacOS
|
|
7.6.1 and builtin to the system since MacOS 8). If your machine is
|
|
pre-68020 you cannot use cfm68k and you can install the classic 68k
|
|
Python.
|
|
|
|
After the installer finishes it automatically launches the
|
|
ConfigurePython applet, to finish configuration of your Python
|
|
installation (except for classic 68K installations, where no extra
|
|
configuration is needed).
|
|
|
|
If you have a pre-system 7 macintosh: sorry, this release will not work
|
|
on your system. Too many sys7 features are used to make a sys6 python
|
|
easy to create.
|
|
|
|
If you don't have enough memory: the sizes choosen are somewhat
|
|
arbitrary. Try lowering the application sizes in the finder "get info"
|
|
window, and seeing whether the resulting python is still usable. Some
|
|
modules (Tkinter comes to mind) need a lot of memory, so it may also be
|
|
necessary to increase the application size.
|
|
|
|
A final note to CFM68K (and possibly PPC) users: the Code Fragment
|
|
Manager can (incorrectly) produce "library not found" and other strange
|
|
error messages when it really means that there is not enough room in the
|
|
system heap. Decreasing (yes, *de*creasing) the size of the interpreter
|
|
and/or enabling virtual memory may solve these problems.
|
|
|
|
After installing
|
|
----------------
|
|
|
|
The first step thing you could try is to run "compileall.py" to create
|
|
all .pyc files, but this isn't very important, as pyc files are
|
|
created on-the-fly as well. You may also want to skip this step if you
|
|
are low on diskspace.
|
|
|
|
Next, it is probably a good idea to run the automatic tests. Start
|
|
Python and "import test.autotest". This should not print any
|
|
errors. It will, however, print some messages about optional features
|
|
not supported. Also, if you didn't run compileall before autotesting
|
|
you may run out of memory the first time you run the
|
|
tests. test_socket may also fail if you have no internet
|
|
connection. Please also read the Relnotes file for other minor
|
|
problems with this distribution.
|
|
|
|
PPC and CFM68K users have a couple of applets in the main folder they
|
|
may want to try, (68K users can use the corresponding scripts from the
|
|
"scripts" folder):
|
|
|
|
- EditPythonPrefs allows you to edit the preferences file, to change the
|
|
python home folder or modify the initial sys.path setting. The default
|
|
settings are somewhat arbitrary, you can remove tkinter if you don't use
|
|
it and possibly add Extensions:img:Lib. - mkapplet creates a python
|
|
applet, a tiny application written in python. Drop a python source on it
|
|
and out comes the application. More information can be found in the
|
|
"Mac:Demo" folder.
|
|
|
|
If you have a slow machine you may want to disable automatic site.py import
|
|
since site.py does not do too much on the mac (unless you make it do
|
|
something), and it can take a few seconds.
|
|
|
|
PPC and CFM68K users will see one more file in the python folder:
|
|
PythonApplet. This is the template for building applets, leave it alone.
|
|
The applet is "fat", containing both PPC and CFM68K code. Hence, applets
|
|
built with it can be transported to machines with the other
|
|
architecture.
|
|
|
|
Uninstalling
|
|
------------
|
|
|
|
Two items are installed in the system folder: the interpreter shared
|
|
library "PythonCore 1.5.2b1" lives in the Extensions folder and the
|
|
"Python 1.5.2b1 Preferences" file in the Preferences folder. All the rest
|
|
of Python lives in the folder you installed in.
|
|
|
|
Things to see
|
|
-------------
|
|
|
|
There are some readme files in the "Read me files" folder that may
|
|
contain useful information. There is also a first stab at documentation
|
|
(plus examples) in the Mac:Demo folder. The toplevel Demo folder has
|
|
machine-independent demos. See the file Readme-mac for mac-specific
|
|
notes. The Mac:Lib:test folder also has some programs that show simple
|
|
capabilities of various modules.
|
|
|
|
The "scripts" folder has some sample scripts. Some are useful, some are
|
|
just interesting to look at to see how various things work. The MkDistr,
|
|
mkapplet and fullbuild scripts (plus the ones mentioned above) may help
|
|
you to understand how to use AppleEvents and various other toolboxes
|
|
from python.
|
|
|
|
The 'img' group of modules, which handles I/O of many different image
|
|
formats is included, but without documentation. You can find docs at
|
|
ftp://ftp.cwi.nl/pub/jack/python/img (or somewhere around there).
|
|
|
|
Finally there is a Mac:Contrib folder which contains some contributed
|
|
software, including a Real Programming Environment and some AppleScript
|
|
related modules.
|
|
|
|
Upgrading from older Python releases
|
|
------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Since release 1.4 Python releases are independent of each other, with
|
|
separate Preferences files, shared library names, etc. The good news is
|
|
that this means you can keep your older version around if you are unsure
|
|
whether to upgrade. The bad news is that your old preference settings
|
|
are lost and you have to set them again.
|
|
|
|
After you are satisfied that 1.5.2b1 works as expected you can trash
|
|
anything in the system folder that has "python" in the name and not
|
|
"1.5.2b1".
|
|
|
|
The installer
|
|
-------------
|
|
|
|
The installer for this product was created using Installer VISE Lite
|
|
from MindVision Software. For more information on Installer VISE Lite,
|
|
contact:
|
|
MindVision Software
|
|
7201 North 7th Street
|
|
Lincoln, NE 68521-8913
|
|
Voice: 402-477-3269
|
|
Fax: 402-477-1395
|
|
Internet: mindvision@mindvision.com
|
|
http://www.mindvision.com
|
|
|
|
Just van Rossum <just@letterror.nl> created the installer.
|
|
|
|
Feedback
|
|
--------
|
|
|
|
Send bug reports, suggestions, contributions and fanmail to
|
|
<jack@cwi.nl>. However, a better way to discuss MacPython is to join the
|
|
<pythonmac-sig@python.org> mailing list, which is explicitly meant for
|
|
this purpose.
|
|
|
|
Alternatively, you can try sending to comp.lang.python or
|
|
python-list@cwi.nl, but since I read the newsgroup, not the mailinglist,
|
|
I may miss it there (but other people may know quite a bit more than me
|
|
anyway:-).
|
|
|
|
Jack Jansen
|
|
Centrum voor Wiskunde en Informatica
|
|
Kruislaan 413
|
|
1098 SJ Amsterdam
|
|
the Netherlands
|
|
|
|
<jack@cwi.nl>, http://www.cwi.nl/~jack
|