can't run VPython programs

[Joe Heafner]

Hi.

I'm using Mac OS 10.2.3, Apple's implementation of X11
<http://www.apple.com/x11/> based on XFree 4.2.1, Apple's X11 SDK, Fink
0.5.1, and Visual-2002-07-22 from the VPython web site
<http://www.vpython.org>. I've installed the system-xfree86 package and
the fink Python (Python 2.2 specifically) package. Everything installed
properly with no errors. I forgot to become root to run the VPython
install script, but I ran it again as root. Actually, I ran it again with
"sudo" which worked under OS 10.1.5 and Fink 0.4.1.

Now, when I try to run any VPython program from IDLE, here's what I get:

-----begin error message
Visual-2002-07-22
Traceback (innermost last)
  File "/sw/share/python-visual/Programs/Demos/orbit.py", line 1, in ?
    from visual import *
ImportError: Failure linking new module

Program disconnected.
-----end error message

This specific example was for orbit.py, but I get the same error with any 
program, and I get the same error whether I run the program from the 
~/VPython/Programs/Demos folder or from the duplicate folder under /sw.

The only thing out of the ordinary I've noticed is that my /sw tree is 
owned by my admin username and not root. I understood this to be a bug in 
the Fink 0.5.1 installer and I was under the impression that a new 
installer would be issued or that simply using chown to make root on /sw 
would be okay.

I don't know if the problem is with Fink, X11, Python 2.2, or VPython. Any 
suggestions? A colleague of mine reports being aboe to run VPython 
programs under both Apple's X11 Fink's latest X11.

JH