[Pythonmac-SIG] My stab at a new page

[Bob Ippolito]

On Feb 10, 2006, at 9:51 AM, Bill Janssen wrote:

>> You seem to have a good handle on what is needed to get new users
>> involved in working with Python on the Mac. Even some of the
>> questions that you list here might be a little too complex for new
>> users.
>
> The problem is that there are many kinds of "new users".
>
> There are experienced programmers who understand the Mac, and are
> familiar with, say, Objective-C and Cocoa and Java, but are looking at
> Python for the first time.  They want to know the things that Bob and
> Ron keep working on, things like "How do a build an app in Python?"
> and "How do I use Cocoa, or Apple Events, or ... in Python?" or "How
> do I use Python with Xcode?"  And they want the Python tutorial.
>
> There are Python programmers coming from Windows or Linux, who want to
> know primarily how to get Python on their Mac, and what special things
> about the Mac they need to know to avoid tripping over their feet
> while using Python.  They know about things like site-packages, but
> not about /Library vs. /System/Library, or frameworks, or various
> Apple-specific gcc bindings for dynamic linking.

These two can be presented together.. the second set would be  
something like "Python differences between Mac OS X and other  
platforms".

> Then there are people like Karl described yesterday in his story about
> the computer teacher descovering Python's turtle graphics, who are
> looking for low-entry (no installers) ways to do scripting or
> education.
>
> A good entry page tries to speak usefully to all of these communities
> at the same time, without speaking down to any of them.

Do you really think that there is a large enough audience that would  
be willing to read pages of documentation, but not be willing to  
install anything?

The situation Karl describes wouldn't have happened by the computer  
teacher's own hand.. it was only possible because someone  
knowledgeable was in the room to tell them about Python and also to  
give them a minimal UNIX crash course.  A web page might be ammo for  
someone like Karl to give out, but it likely wouldn't have done  
anything for the teacher without Karl.

With a downloadable package that sorts out all the issues that need  
to be documented, then we would be able to skirt the whole issue of  
the UNIX crash course.  Download this package, double-click to  
install, double-click to start IDLE (or whatever) here.  Yes, it  
might be easier for a teacher with 20 computers to teach rather than  
install, but how often is that the case?

I also think that if we give people the option to use Python without  
installing anything, then they'll choose that option and be  
disappointed because the experience with a newer version has a few  
years more polish and bug fixes... and can simply get them farther  
because it doesn't have any of the limitations that the pre-installed  
one has.

Another thing to consider would be to do something similar to Movable  
Python:
http://www.voidspace.org.uk/python/movpy/

In this case we would distribute Python as an application, and that  
application when run by itself could have options to "make this  
Python the default from Terminal" or something.

-bob