[Pythonmac-SIG] Python in Jaguar is where?

[Russell E Owen]

>Sorry to open with such a dumb question, having just subscribed to 
>this list, but i've just upgraded my Mac to OS 10.2 ("archive 
>install" method), and cannot see any sign of Python in the current 
>system - tho i gather it's supposed to be there.  Right?  If so, 
>then where?  Surely it should appear somewhere other than in the 
>archive, but if so, i can't find it...

Jaguar's built-in python is in /usr/bin/python and is in the default 
search path. Thus, using Terminal window for this:
% ls -l /usr/bin/python
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  784920 Sep 18 15:07 /usr/bin/python
% python
Python...

You talk about looking for it in /Library, but that's barking up the 
wrong directory tree. Note that the /usr/... files cannot be seen 
from Finder (at least by default), only from the unix prompt.

You may want to install your own version of Python. The one provided 
by Apple has several problems:
- No readlines support. Thus you cannot up-arrow to previous commands 
or edit previous commands with left/right arrow. Personally, I find 
this pretty unbearable.
- No Tkinter support, thus no GUI stuff. Depending on what you want 
to do, you may or may not care.

To install your own python (thus working around these issues) you 
have several choices, including:
- Build it from scratch. At the moment this is the only way I know to 
get a working python 2.2.1 in Jaguar. One set of instructions are at 
<http://www.astro.washington.edu/owen> (my site). There are a things 
you have to twiddle that should not be required for future versions 
of Python (2.2.2, 2.3, etc.).

These instructions include building a Tkinter that requires xfree86 
or some similar X server (though it should be obvious what to leave 
out if you don't want Tkinter). It's also possible to build a 
framework version that works with the aqua version of Tcl/Tk, but I 
don't yet know how to do it.
- Wait for the fink version to be compatible with Jaguar

-- Russell