[Pythonmac-SIG] Back-porting Python 2.3 to Mac OS X 10.5?

[Brad Knowles]

Folks,

I know you hear about these version issues all the time (I have done a bit 
of searching of the archives ;-), but I think this might be the first case 
I'm aware of where someone is trying to backport Python 2.3 to Mac OS X 
10.5, as opposed to trying to get a newer version of Python running on an 
older machine.

My problem is that I'm trying to run the Access Grid software for doing 
video conferencing (see <http://www.accessgrid.org/>), and the latest 
version of AG is built on top of Python 2.3.  Of course, Apple ships Python 
2.5 with Mac OS X 10.5, so AG won't run on my machine (see 
<http://bugzilla.mcs.anl.gov/accessgrid/show_bug.cgi?id=1731>).  There is an 
alpha release of an Intel-only version of AG for Mac OS X 10.5 which has 
been built with Python 2.5, but that doesn't help me since I'm running on a 
PowerMac G5 (PPC).

So, while they work on their issues of trying to get their code brought 
up-to-date to work with Python 2.5, I figured I'd go the other route and see 
if I can get Python 2.3 installed on my machine (with wxPython 2.6 and 
Tcl/Tk Aqua 8.4.9, see 
<http://www-unix.mcs.anl.gov/fl/research/accessgrid/software/releases/3.1/macosx.html>).


I checked around, and there doesn't seem to be much in the FAQ at 
<http://wiki.python.org/moin/MacPython/FAQ>, and I'm at a loss to be able to 
find any other resources that talk about this subject.

I'm a little loathe to just grab the latest source version of Python 2.3 
(2.3.7, according to <http://www.python.org/download/releases/2.3.7/>), 
without at least a little encouragement that this should work, typical 
stumbling blocks to look for, etc....

And yes, this does have to be installed in a place that won't interfere with 
the system-supplied Python 2.5, and once Python 2.3 is installed then I need 
to go figure out how to install AG with a non-standard location for the 
Python installation.  But first things first, and that means getting Python 
2.3 installed on this machine in a non-competing/non-destructive location.


Does anyone have advice, URLs, or other suggestions that may be helpful?

Thanks!

-- 
Brad Knowles <brad at shub-internet.org>
LinkedIn Profile: <http://tinyurl.com/y8kpxu>