Problem

[Mirko]

Am 30.09.2020 um 17:55 schrieb Dennis Lee Bieber:
> On Tue, 29 Sep 2020 22:31:18 +0000 (UTC), Ron Villarreal via Python-list
> <python-list at python.org> declaimed the following:
> 
>> Tried to open Python 3.8. I have Windows 10. Icon won’t open.
> 
> 	What "Icon"?
> 
> 	Python is a language interpreter/compiler -- it runs from a command
> prompt/shell. Clicking on a Python SCRIPT might open a shell, which will
> almost immediately close when the script finishes executing (files with a
> .pyw extension are supposed to create their own GUI using one of a couple
> of libraries, and don't open a shell).


I'm just a lurker, hobby programmer and Linux geek, so take my words
with some caution.

We are seeing these troubles from newcomers on Windows all of the
time -- and that for years. Isn't it time to ask if the way Python
installs itself on Windows-Systems is appropriate?

I have only limited knowledge about current Windows systems. But it
seems to me that newcomers download some setup exe/msi and then
search the menu to run what ever is found (python.exe or even the
setup-program.)

That's Ok, if you understand what an interpreter/compiler for the
command-line is. But programming beginners usually don't know that
(especially not if there are Windows users).

There has been a lot of effort to make this group inclusive and
newcomer-friendly. But it seems to me that this is not the case for
the software itself. Given that Python ships with a rudimentary IDE
(IDLE), should that one be promoted more intensively?

Shouldn't IDLE be named something like "Python Editor" (or Python
IDE/App) in the menu, so beginners can more easily find it? Further
it might be a good idea to make this "Repair/Modify/Remove"-Dialog
more explicit by clearly saying "Python is already installed. If you
want to use it, do ...".