Getting up and running with Python on a Mac

[tkpmep at hotmail.com]

I've just bought an iMac (OS X 10.5.2, will almost immediately jump to
10.5.3), and am looking to install Python on it, and to use it with
XCode, Apple's IDE. Some googling suggests that a number of people
have had trouble getting Python to run satisfactorily on their Macs.
This is my first Mac, and I'd appreciate some guidance on what to do
(and what not to) when installing Python and potential problems to
keep an eye open for. I want to do a fair bit of scientific /
numerical computing, so it would seem that SAGE ot the Enthought
Python distribution would seem to be the most relevant  - I'd
appreciate your guidance on getting Python to run on a Mac with a
particular focus on these two distributions.

Thank you in advance

Thomas Philips