Question

[Adam Tomjack]

Double clicking python.exe will give you the command line version.  To 
run IDLE, click Start -> Programs -> Python 2.x -> IDLE.

pythonw.exe is useful for running GUI scripts.  In Windows there are two 
types of programs: command line and gui programs.  python.exe is the 
command line version.  Suppose you write a Tk or a wxWindows program 
with python and you save it to a file.  You can still use python.exe to 
run that gui program, but it'll open an extra black window with nothing 
in it.  That's what pythonw.exe is for.  It can't give you a command 
line (which is why it disappears right away when you double click it), 
but it also doesn't open than extra window when you use it to run a gui 
application.

Adam

Beginner/Not Yet Programmer wrote:
> I've never programmed before, so I thought I'd try and learn a bit by
> using some Python tutorials.  I started using the tutorial at
> http://www.honors.montana.edu/~jjc/easytut/easytut/node3.html.  It
> mentioned different forms of Python, specifically Command Line and
> IDLE.  Being inexperienced, I'm not sure how to change from Command
> Line to IDLE, and I'm not sure which one I'm in when I start up the
> program.  In my Python folder, the only applications I have are
> python.exe and pythonw.exe.  Pythonw.exe won't run.  So, I run
> python.exe, and I'm not sure whether it is IDLE, Command Line, or
> neither.  Also, I'm unsure of how to save programs, considering when I
> run python.exe, it opens up a window which does not have the little bar
> with the "File", "Edit", "View" and "Help" buttons on it.  If you can
> help me out at all, thank you.
>