Beginners list of Python donloads - please review

[Stephen Horne]

On 16 Feb 2004 03:25:54 -0800, sridharinfinity at yahoo.com (Sridhar R)
wrote:

>"Will" <wstandley at netpv.com> wrote in message news:<TupXb.39481$Bb.333441 at twister.tampabay.rr.com>...

>> I running Windows XP Pro and wanted to download Python and any additional
>> tools I should consider using as I get going...
>
>  If you're using GNU/Linux, most of them would be installed
>_by_default_ !

And equivalents for perl, and tcl, and...

My last Mandrake distro came on seven CDs, and they accuse Windows of
bloat! ;-)

And the 'but it's free' argument for Linux doesn't apply here - the
Windows equivalents are just as free. Windows allows you to install
all kinds of free and open source software (at least for now).

And as for changing the install options, first off a kind of
dependency hell tends to happen, and second there's the problem that
many installers are poorly tested for non-default options.

Don't get me wrong - I'm by no means a Windows fanatic (who could be?)
but when you claim a particular thing as a clear advantage for Linux
over Windows (to the point of adding an exclamation mark, even) it's
best to make sure it really is a clear advantage. This one seems
rather more dubious to me. And if you claim dubious advantages as
clear advantages, IMHO it only helps the people who claim that linux
enthusiasts are irrational.

>I (and others) also feel that wxWindows
>(and thus wxPython) is buggy.

There is, sadly, some truth in this. I get some (minor) GUI glitches
just running the demos, for instance. And the last time I used
wxPython seriously I discovered that common newbie errors can quite
easily crash Python - something which IMO just shouldn't happen in an
interpreted environment. This was a few releases ago, though.

My initial reaction to proposing the use of pyGTK rather than
wxWindows was simply that you lose more than you gain - a lot of
people aren't going to be keen to lose Windows as a possible platform
for their applications. But I do usually try to check my facts, and so
I found this...

http://www.async.com.br/faq/pygtk/index.py?req=show&file=faq21.001.htp

GTK and PyGTK on Windows - that came as a bit of a surprise, but
certainly a nice one :-)

I must have a play...

Mind you, that's not to say that I'm giving up on wxWindows/Python.
They may not be perfect, but I still think the balance is
substantially in their favour.


-- 
Steve Horne

steve at ninereeds dot fsnet dot co dot uk