[Pythonmac-SIG] Python Distributables?
Richard Gordon
maccgi@bellsouth.net
Wed, 7 Apr 1999 13:57:56 -0400
[This is actually an offshoot from the "Using Python or Java for data
analysis" thread- RG]
At 13:40 -0700 4/5/1999, Chris Barker wrote:
> >7). Application delivery. Final product as an application for others to
> >use.
>
>I'd like to see this easier to do with Python. You would probably have
>to distribute Python, and all the modules that you need with your
>app. This might make it a bit messier than it has to be. On Linux, yopu
>could make a rpm out of it, and it would be pretty easy. On the mac, you
>could make an installer that would be pretty easy, or even put
>everything you need into the Resource fork, and make it look like a
>stand alone app.
I am very interested in this aspect of Python, but am also very
confused. I have a fairly small, single purpose app that I originally
developed in Perl with the intent of selling it over the internet. I
ultimately concluded that Perl was not the way to go with this
because a) providing a GUI for Mac and Windows meant doing everything
twice using dissimilar tools and b) Perl is too open to be of any use
in a shareware application.
So I got interested in Python because of tkinter and because I
understood that distributables could be byte code compiled which
would make it at least a little harder for some kid in a dorm room to
rip me off. But I'm very fuzzy about what would be required in the
actual distribution in order for it to run x-platform (I'm omitting
Linux as a target because Linux users are unlikely to be very
interested in paying for something that they could probably figure
out on their own). Anyway, this is just a text manipulation utility
and doesn't do anything especially elaborate, but would be of
interest to anyone who has to import data into a database or
spreadsheet and doesn't understand grep or is too lazy to develop
their own solution (i.e., most Mac users and virtually all Windows
users).
Ideally, a distributable would use identical code (with some platform
branching perhaps), would not require a full Python install, and
would only include the bare essentials as far as modules are
concerned. Any thoughts?
Richard Gordon
--------------------
Gordon Consulting & Design
Database Design/Scripting Languages
mailto://maccgi@bellsouth.net
770.565.8267