[Python-Dev] 3.2.1 encoding surprise

[Glenn Linderman]

On 7/20/2011 8:22 PM, Nick Coghlan wrote:
> On Thu, Jul 21, 2011 at 12:52 PM, R. David Murray<rdmurray at bitdance.com>  wrote:
>> Indeed.  If I want to run a script with a different python version
>> on a unix-like system, I need to know the path to said script.
>> We're trying to make python as easy to use on Windows as it is on Unix.
>> If find-script-on-path is considered a worthwhile feature, then as Mark
>> said it should be added to base Python (on all platforms), not special-cased
>> in the Windows launcher.
> And given the diverse range of what Python considers to be an
> executable script these days, -1000 to that particular feature. Use
> `which scriptname`, that's what it's for. The lack of such
> functionality in the underpowered cmd shell on Windows isn't Python's
> problem to solve - ask MS for a better shell and command line
> utilities (assuming Powershell doesn't already offer something
> comparable to 'which').
>
> There are reasons I only code specifically for Windows if someone pays
> me to do so :P

Interesting feedback.  Well, I have a "which" program on my machine, but 
as a 32-bit executable, it won't find py in the 64-bit 
c:\windows\system32 directory!  Another good reason to demand pay for 
Windows programming.  There are some interesting gotchas to the way 32- 
vs 64-bit "compatibility" is achieved in Windows (groan).  I'll find or 
write a better one, in due time.  Meantime, the launcher testing has 
been a good learning exercise for me.

Interesting, David, that you feel it that Python usability on Windows 
should be limited to its usability on Unix, rather than to exceed it. I 
don't see that as a necessary or appropriate limit.  Windows and Unix 
are different.  Unix people are accustomed to using tools like which, 
and using command lines, and path manipulations; Windows people are 
not.  So the use of the command line is already somewhat foreign to 
them, and limiting the launcher so that they have to use other command 
line tools to get the work done, would only serve to frustrate them.  
Now the argument can possibly be made that people that want to use 
launcher from the command line would be those that are already command 
line experts might be realistic, but I will note that Perl has a -S 
option to find its script on the PATH, not that that is a sufficient 
reason to add such to Python, or even to the launcher, but just to note 
that there are at least some people besides myself that might think that 
is a friendly idea.

My goal in writing software is to make it easy to use, regardless of 
whether some other system should be the responsible party or not -- 
especially when I don't control the other system.  But then, I haven't 
found time to write a competing launcher, either, with friendlier 
features.  So, I'll just reiterate that I would find it friendly if the 
launcher searched the path to find the script, and agree that if Python 
had a feature to do so, that would also be friendly to the Windows 
platform, but less necessary on Unix where you can  `which script.py` 
(although that would still require more typing than if the path 
searching were automatic.
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