#!/usr/bin/python or #!/usr/bin/env python?

[Erik Max Francis]

John Salerno wrote:

> I understand the difference, but I'm just curious if anyone has any 
> strong feelings toward using one over the other? I was reading that a 
> disadvantage to the more general usage (i.e. env) is that it finds the 
> first python on the path, and that might not be the proper one to use. I 
> don't know if that's a real issue most of the time, but it's at least 
> something to consider.
> 
> And is Python found in directories other than /usr/bin often enough to 
> justify using the more general form?

Yes.  If Python (or indeed any other well-behaving software) is 
installed manually, it will _not_ be installed in /usr/bin.  /usr is 
where your primary OS/distribution installation goes.  Additional 
software goes elsewhere, such as /usr/local.

Always prefer to use env over a hardcoded path, because that hardcoded 
path will invariably be wrong.  (Yes, for those about to nitpick, it's 
conceivable that env might be somewhere other than /usr/bin.  However, 
that is very rare and results in a no-win situations regardless of the 
issue of where Python is installed.)

-- 
Erik Max Francis && max at alcyone.com && http://www.alcyone.com/max/
  San Jose, CA, USA && 37 20 N 121 53 W && AIM erikmaxfrancis
   Never contend with a man who has nothing to lose.
    -- Baltasar Gracian, 1647