[Python-Dev] Python launcher command line usage (Was: 3.2.1 encoding surprise)

[Mark Hammond]

On 21/07/2011 4:38 AM, Terry Reedy wrote:

> Many installers first make an organization directory and then an app
> directory within that. This annoys me sometimes when they only have one
> app to ever install, but is useful when there might really be multiple
> directories, as in our case. (Ditto for start menu entries.) This is
> what python should have done a decade ago.

I disagree.  If we followed that advice we would also be in "\Program 
Files".  I have no problem with multiple Python versions installed 
directly off the root, especially given most users probably have a very 
small number of such installations.  I think Python being a developer 
tool rather than a user app is a reasonable justification for that (and 
the justification used when the existing scheme was decided)

 > The two proposals
> overlap but are not mutually exclusive. For future pythons, 'python33'
> is easier to remember and type than 'py -v 3.3' or whatever the proposed
> encantation is.

'py -3.3' - less chars to type than 'python33' and with no need to have 
every Python directory on your PATH.  IMO it is also simple enough that 
people will remember it fairly easily.

Also, the launcher supports the ability to select either the 32 or 64bit 
implementation - so maybe 'python33.exe' isn't really good enough and 
should reflect the bittedness?

> A python directory also gives a sensible (though optional) place to put
> other interpreters and even python-based apps. The launcher does not.

What other interpreters?  IMO it doesn't make sense to have IronPython, 
jython etc be installed there.  Ditto for apps - especially given most 
apps tend to be tied to a subset of all possible Python versions.

Mark