167 lines
7.6 KiB
Plaintext
167 lines
7.6 KiB
Plaintext
Building and using a framework-based Python on Mac OS X.
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--------------------------------------------------------
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This document provides a quick introduction to framework-based Python.
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It is rather terse and probably incomplete, please send me feedback.
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1. Why would I want a framework Python in stead of a normal static Python?
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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The main reason is because you want to create GUI programs in Python. With the
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exception of X11/XDarwin-based GUI toolkits it appears that all GUI programs
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need to be run from a fullblown MacOSX application (a ".app" bundle).
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While it is technically possible to create a .app without using frameworks you
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will have to do the work yourself if you really want this.
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A second reason for using frameworks is that they put Python-related items in
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only two places: /Library/Framework/Python.framework and /Applications/Python.
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This simplifies matters for users installing Python from a binary distribution
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if they want to get rid of it again. Moreover, due to the way frameworks work
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a user without admin privileges can install a binary distribution in his or
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her home directory without recompilation.
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2. How does a framework Python differ from a normal static Python?
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------------------------------------------------------------------
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In everyday use there is no difference, except that things are stored in
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a different place. If you look in /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework
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you will see lots of relative symlinks, see the Apple documentation for
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details. If you are used to a normal unix Python file layout go down to
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Versions/Current and you will see the familiar bin and lib directories.
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3. Do I need extra packages?
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----------------------------
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Yes, probably. If you want to be able to use the PythonIDE you will need to
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get Waste, an all-singing-all-dancing TextEdit replacement, from
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www.merzwaren.com. It will unpack into a folder named something like "Waste
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2.1 Distribution". Make a symlink called "waste" to this folder, somewhere
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beside your Python source distribution (it can be "../waste", "../../waste",
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etc).
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If you want Tkinter support you need to get the OSX AquaTk distribution. If
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you want wxPython you need to get that. If you want Cocoa you need to get
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pyobjc. Because all these are currently in a state of flux please refer to
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http://www.cwi.nl/~jack/macpython.html, which should contain pointers to more
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information.
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4. How do I build a framework Python?
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-------------------------------------
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This directory contains a Makefile that will create a couple of python-related
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applications (fullblown OSX .app applications, that is) in
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/Applications/Python, and a hidden helper application Python.app inside the
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Python.framework, and unix tools "python" and "pythonw" into /usr/local/bin.
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In addition it has a target "installmacsubtree" that installs the relevant
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portions of the Mac subtree into the Python.framework.
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It is normally invoked indirectly through the main Makefile, as the last step
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in the sequence
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1. ./configure --enable-framework
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2. make
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3. make frameworkinstall
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This sequence will put the framework in /Library/Framework/Python.framework,
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the applications in /Applications/Python and the unix tools in /usr/local/bin.
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Building in another place, for instance $HOME/Library/Frameworks if you have
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no admin privileges on your machine, has only been tested very lightly. This
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can be done by configuring with --enable-framework=$HOME/Library/Frameworks.
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The other two directories, /Applications/Python and /usr/local/bin, will then
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also be deposited in $HOME. This is sub-optimal for the unix tools, which you
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would want in $HOME/bin, but there is no easy way to fix this right now.
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Note that there are no references to the actual locations in the code or
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resource files, so you are free to move things around afterwards. For example,
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you could use --enable-framework=/tmp/newversion/Library/Frameworks and use
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/tmp/newversion as the basis for an installer or something.
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If you want to install some part, but not all, read the main Makefile. The
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frameworkinstall is composed of a couple of sub-targets that install the
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framework itself, the Mac subtree, the applications and the unix tools.
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If you want to run the Makefile here directly, in stead of through the main
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Makefile, you will have to pass various variable-assignments. Read the
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beginning of the Makefile for details.
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5. What do all these programs do?
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---------------------------------
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PythonIDE.app is an integrated development environment for Python: editor,
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debugger, etc.
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PythonLauncher.app is a helper application that will handle things when you
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double-click a .py, .pyc or .pyw file. For the first two it creates a Terminal
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window and runs the scripts with the normal command-line Python. For the
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latter it runs the script in the Python.app interpreter so the script can do
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GUI-things. Keep the "alt" key depressed while dragging or double-clicking a
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script to set runtime options. These options can be set once and for all
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through PythonLauncher's preferences dialog.
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BuildApplet.app creates an applet from a Python script. Drop the script on it
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and out comes a full-featured MacOS application. There is much more to this,
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to be supplied later. Some useful (but outdated) info can be found in
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Mac/Demo.
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The commandline scripts /usr/local/bin/python and pythonw can be used to run
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non-GUI and GUI python scripts from the command line, respectively.
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6. How do I create a binary distribution?
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-----------------------------------------
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Note: this section is work-in-progress.
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First, to make sure there's no contamination, it is best to remove your
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existing Python installation (clear out /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework
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and /Applications/Python). Also, after build/install is finished check that
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nothing has shown up in those two locations.
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Create a subdirectory of the main python directory, say build-pythondist. In
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there, run
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../configure --enable-framework=/tmp/pythondist/Library/Frameworks \
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LDFLAGS=-Wl,-x
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make
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make frameworkinstall
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This installs a complete distribution set in /tmp/pythondist: in a framework
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build all other pathnames are computed from the framework pathname.
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Optionally you may want to include the full documentation in the binary installer.
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To this end, execute the following commands:
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python.exe ../Mac/OSX/setupDocs.py build
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python.exe ../Mac/OSX/setupDocs.py install \
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--prefix=/tmp/python/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/Current
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Note that the unix tools in /tmp/pythondist are wrong, these have to be
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removed, and the installer post-install script should recreate them on the
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target system. Also, the .pyc and .pyo files need to be removed:
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rm -rf /tmp/pythondist/usr
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python.exe ../Mac/script/zappycfiles.py /tmp/pythondist
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Finally, create the .pkg file with a commandline like
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python ../Mac/scripts/buildpkg.py \
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--Title=MacPython-X \
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--Version=2.3a0 \
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--Description="Python for Mac OS X, framework based" \
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/tmp/pythondist
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This creates a MacPython-X.pkg in the current directory.
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TBD: provide postinstall scripts to precompile .pyc/.pyo files, and to recreate
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the unix programs.
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7. Odds and ends.
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-----------------
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The PythonLauncher is actually an Objective C Cocoa app built with Project
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Builder. It could be a Python program, except for the fact that pyobjc is not
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a part of the core distribution, and is not completely finished yet as of this
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writing.
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Something to take note of is that the ".rsrc" files in the distribution are
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not actually resource files, they're AppleSingle encoded resource files. The
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macresource module and the Mac/OSX/Makefile cater for this, and create
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".rsrc.df.rsrc" files on the fly that are normal datafork-based resource
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files.
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Jack Jansen, jack@oratrix.com, 06-Sep-02 |