151 lines
5.5 KiB
ReStructuredText
151 lines
5.5 KiB
ReStructuredText
.. highlightlang:: sh
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.. _using-on-unix:
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********************************
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Using Python on Unix platforms
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********************************
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.. sectionauthor:: Shriphani Palakodety
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Getting and installing the latest version of Python
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===================================================
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On Linux
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--------
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Python comes preinstalled on most Linux distributions, and is available as a
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package on all others. However there are certain features you might want to use
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that are not available on your distro's package. You can easily compile the
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latest version of Python from source.
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In the event that Python doesn't come preinstalled and isn't in the repositories as
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well, you can easily make packages for your own distro. Have a look at the
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following links:
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.. seealso::
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http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/maint-guide/first.en.html
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for Debian users
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http://en.opensuse.org/Portal:Packaging
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for OpenSuse users
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http://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/Fedora_Draft_Documentation/0.1/html/RPM_Guide/ch-creating-rpms.html
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for Fedora users
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http://www.slackbook.org/html/package-management-making-packages.html
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for Slackware users
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On FreeBSD and OpenBSD
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----------------------
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* FreeBSD users, to add the package use::
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pkg_add -r python
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* OpenBSD users use::
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pkg_add ftp://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/4.2/packages/<insert your architecture here>/python-<version>.tgz
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For example i386 users get the 2.5.1 version of Python using::
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pkg_add ftp://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/4.2/packages/i386/python-2.5.1p2.tgz
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On OpenSolaris
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--------------
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You can get Python from `OpenCSW <http://www.opencsw.org/>`_. Various versions
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of Python are available and can be installed with e.g. ``pkgutil -i python27``.
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Building Python
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===============
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If you want to compile CPython yourself, first thing you should do is get the
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`source <https://www.python.org/download/source/>`_. You can download either the
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latest release's source or just grab a fresh `clone
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<https://docs.python.org/devguide/setup.html#getting-the-source-code>`_. (If you want
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to contribute patches, you will need a clone.)
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The build process consists in the usual ::
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./configure
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make
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make install
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invocations. Configuration options and caveats for specific Unix platforms are
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extensively documented in the :source:`README` file in the root of the Python
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source tree.
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.. warning::
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``make install`` can overwrite or masquerade the :file:`python` binary.
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``make altinstall`` is therefore recommended instead of ``make install``
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since it only installs :file:`{exec_prefix}/bin/python{version}`.
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Python-related paths and files
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==============================
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These are subject to difference depending on local installation conventions;
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:envvar:`prefix` (``${prefix}``) and :envvar:`exec_prefix` (``${exec_prefix}``)
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are installation-dependent and should be interpreted as for GNU software; they
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may be the same.
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For example, on most Linux systems, the default for both is :file:`/usr`.
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+-----------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------+
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| File/directory | Meaning |
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+===============================================+==========================================+
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| :file:`{exec_prefix}/bin/python` | Recommended location of the interpreter. |
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+-----------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------+
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| :file:`{prefix}/lib/python{version}`, | Recommended locations of the directories |
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| :file:`{exec_prefix}/lib/python{version}` | containing the standard modules. |
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+-----------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------+
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| :file:`{prefix}/include/python{version}`, | Recommended locations of the directories |
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| :file:`{exec_prefix}/include/python{version}` | containing the include files needed for |
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| | developing Python extensions and |
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| | embedding the interpreter. |
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+-----------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------+
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| :file:`~/.pythonrc.py` | User-specific initialization file loaded |
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| | by the user module; not used by default |
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| | or by most applications. |
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+-----------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------+
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Miscellaneous
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=============
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To easily use Python scripts on Unix, you need to make them executable,
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e.g. with ::
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$ chmod +x script
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and put an appropriate Shebang line at the top of the script. A good choice is
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usually ::
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#!/usr/bin/env python
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which searches for the Python interpreter in the whole :envvar:`PATH`. However,
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some Unices may not have the :program:`env` command, so you may need to hardcode
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``/usr/bin/python`` as the interpreter path.
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To use shell commands in your Python scripts, look at the :mod:`subprocess` module.
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Editors
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=======
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Vim and Emacs are excellent editors which support Python very well. For more
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information on how to code in Python in these editors, look at:
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* http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=790
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* http://sourceforge.net/projects/python-mode
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Geany is an excellent IDE with support for a lot of languages. For more
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information, read: http://www.geany.org/
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Komodo edit is another extremely good IDE. It also has support for a lot of
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languages. For more information, read http://komodoide.com/.
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