[Baypiggies] Novice Programmer Asking For Assistance

[Ned Deily]

In article 
<CAB6eaA40OFdkkfCerf07+1C+0ZORhkwz+DTNMTuYZ94pztCUfg at mail.gmail.com>,
 wesley chun <wescpy at gmail.com> wrote:
> +1 what lynn said... and a warning: trying to install your own version of
> Python on Macs may not be easy and could lead to breakage (seen it/heard
> about it from many people) because it's likely that anything you install
> will likely clash with the one Apple has already put on your Mac. it's a
> delicate process that requires some experience. anyway, hope that kellan is
> able to help you with your setup if you can make it there.

It's true that Apple supplies Python with OS X, on the most recent 
releases, more than one version of Python (2.5, 2.6, and 2.7 on OS X 
10.7 and 10.8).  But, it's not true that it is difficult or dangerous to 
install another version of Python on an OS X system.  In fact, using 
Python OS X framework builds, which most distributors of Python for OS X 
use these days, it is actually much easier to manage multiple versions 
of Python, even multiple instances of the same version of Python, than 
on other systems.  That's because all of the version-specific files are 
isolated within each instance's framework.  You can download and easily 
install binary versions of Python from python.org, or install Python and 
lots of third-party packages using the major third-party open source 
package managers for OS X, like MacPorts, Homebrew, or Fink.

What you *shouldn't* do is try to replace the Apple-supplied Python 
files and links in /usr/bin and /System/Library; that could break other 
parts of OS X.  Fortunately there is no need to if you manage your $PATH 
correctly.  And it is perfectly acceptable to install third-party 
packages for use the Apple-supplied system Pythons; Apple thoughtfully 
includes versions of the easy_install command (from setuptools) to do 
so.  If you install other Pythons, you would need to supply versions of 
Distribute/setuptools and/or pip for each of them.

-- 
 Ned Deily,
 nad at acm.org