Distributing Python apps

[Bjorn Pettersen]

> From: Norman Skrzypinski [mailto:zypin at sympatico.ca] 
> 
[...]
> 
> From what I have read in the "Distributing Python Modules" 
> section of the Python Documentation (Release 2.2.2, October 
> 14, 2002), both source and built distributions can be 
> installed only by users who have Python installed on their 
> machines.  They do not "standalone".

Depending on your relationship to the consumers of your software this
may or may not be an issue. Most people actually don't care if you
install the entire Python distribution just to run your 50 line
script...

> Until you mentioned it, I was unaware of py2exe.  After 
> reading the Python documentation, however, I read the first 
> sentence on Gordon McMillan's web page 
> (http://www.mcmillan-inc.com/install1.html), > which states, 
> "Distributing Python Apps...is a pain, 
[...]

And Gordon is correct that there is no magic button but it's a lot
easier than he gives the impression of (with certain exceptions, I'm
sure). Expect to spend anywhere from 2 minutes to an hour the first time
you want to go from working application to installable application
(mostly looking up the specs for the config file). After that it's like
running any other program, chug, chug, installer/single executable. No
fuzz, no interaction.

Personally, I avoided this step for about six months more than I should
have because I expected it looked too difficult. When I sat down and had
a working executable within five minutes I definitely got the warm
fuzzies <grin>.

So, as one of my teachers used to say: "don't assume anything is
impossible until you've failed spectacularly".

-- bjorn