[Pythonmac-SIG] a bit for the FAQ on IPython

[Charles Hartman]

(I don't know where this goes. I've phrased it for Terminal beginners  
-- now *there's* a phrase.)

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IPython is a replacement for the default Python interpreter. It  
includes better history and tab-completion features, provides more  
elaborate ways of inspecting objects, and can be embedded in your own  
applications to help you debug them. See http://ipython.scipy.org/  
for a full description.

(If you also want to install matplotlib, follow the instructions at  
http://geosci.uchicago.edu/~tobis/pylab.html instead of these. The  
steps given there include the steps given here.)

The scipy.org site gives instructions for installing IPython, but  
they are not quite correct for the Mac. Assuming that you have  
installed Python 2.4, here are the correct steps:

1. Download the IPython archive. As of 7 March 2006 it is at
	http://ipython.scipy.org/dist/ipython-0.7.1.fix1.tar.gz
Move the downloaded file to any convenient place, such as the  
MacPython folder in your Applications folder. Double-click  
the .tar.gz file to unpack the archive. Then double-click the  
resulting folder (currently ipython-0.7.1.fix1) to open it.

2. Start the Terminal. Type "cd " (with a trailing space) at the  
command prompt, but don't press Return. Click once on the folder icon  
in the title bar of the folder you just opened. Then click and drag  
the icon into the Terminal window. The name of the folder will be  
added to your "cd" ("change directory") command. Press Return.

4. At the command prompt type
	sudo pythonw setup.py install --install-scripts=/usr/local/bin
and press Return.

 From the Terminal command prompt, from any directory, you can now  
enter the command "ipython" to use the enhanced interpreter. These  
steps also install the IPythonShell module where it can be found by  
an "import" statement, which is what you do to embed the interpreter  
in your own program.

==================================================

Charles