[Python-ideas] PythonOS

[Nick Coghlan]

On 7 November 2016 at 08:25, victor rajewski <askvictor at gmail.com> wrote:
> My proposal is a Linux distribution that has the simplicity of micropython,
> but the power of full python. Drop a file (let's call it main.py) on an SD
> card from your laptop, plug it into the device, and it boots and runs that
> file straight away. Or drop an entire project. If the device has USB device
> capabilities, then just drag the file across, or even edit it live. Easy SSH
> setup could allow more advanced users remote development and debugging
> options. Maybe jupyter could be leveraged to provide other network-based dev
> options (pynq already has a working linux distro like this). Connecting to a
> console would give you a python prompt.
>
> Ideally, key OS functions should be able to be controlled from within
> python, so that the user never has to leave the python prompt. For a start,
> things like network config, and possibly cron.
>
> What do you think? I'm not in a state to do all of this myself, but could
> give it a start if there is interest in the concept.

A potentially simpler option to explore would be a derivative of an
existing beginner-friendly Linux distro like Raspbian that configures
xon.sh ( http://xon.sh/ ) as the default system shell and IPython as
the default Python REPL.

That still keeps a distinction between the system shell, the
interactive Python shell, and normal Python application programming,
but I think those are actually good distinctions to preserve, as
"query and control the currently running machine", "perform ad hoc
interactive IO and data manipulation" and "perform IO manipulation and
user interaction repeatably for the benefit of other users" are
genuinely different tasks, even though they have common needs when it
comes to basic control flow constructs.

Regards,
Nick.

-- 
Nick Coghlan   |   ncoghlan at gmail.com   |   Brisbane, Australia