Python for Windows -- what to install?

[Hrvoje Niksic]

Thanks for the detailed reply, Tim!

"Tim Peters" <tim_one at email.msn.com> writes:

> > I'd like him to be able to use the stuff that is normally distributed
> > with Python 1.5.2, plust IDLE under Tkinter.
> >
> > I assume I'll need `py152.exe' for the basic functionality.
> 
> That contains all of the above -- jusr run it.

Excellent!

> I strongly recommend one deviation from the defaults, though: when
> it asks for the Python installation directory, force it to
> "c:\python15" (where "c:\" is the root of his boot drive, almost
> certainly exactly "c:\").  The default is some monster with embedded
> spaces in its name, and that just makes life harder.

OK.

> > Do the above files include documentation, or do I have to download
> > it separately?
> 
> It's all in py152.exe.

What is the format of the documentation?

> A probable problem and a suggestion: depending on which version of
> Windows he's running and the phase of the moon, the Scriptics Tcl
> installer (which comes with and is invoked by py152.exe -- one big
> reason that's bigger than the Unix Python distributions) may not set
> up Tcl correctly.  The cure for that is to get rid of pre-existing
> tcl*.dll and tk*.dll files, and/or to set the PATH in his
> autoexec.bat to include Tcl's bin directory.  After Tcl is working,
> IDLE will work too, and at that point you should visit python.org
> and grab a more-recent version of IDLE (IDLE has improved a lot
> since the 1.5.2 release).

Will do.  That's why I'm asking all this in advance -- once I burn the
CD and ship it via mail, there will be no more chance to visit
www.python.org for additional stuff.