[Pythonmac-SIG] MacPython post MacOS X...

[Jack Jansen]

> I am fairly new to Python and very new to "MacPython". With MacOSX
> (client/server[client-based]) coming fairly soon what is this going to mean
> for "MacPython"? If anything? My understanding of "MacPython" is that it is
> a port of the standard Unix Python with additional Mac extensions (AE.
> toolbox, etc.) Will Python on the Mac become "Standard Python" -> Unix (BSD
> based) with "Python Mac extensions" -> Carbon/Classic based. Or will it be a
> duplicate distribution Unix/BSD distro keeps to itself and MacPython keeps
> to itself?

My feeling is that indeed the MaxOSXPython core will be based on standard Unix 
Python with toolbox modules added. Initially there will probably be both an 
MacOSXPython and MacPython, of which the latter will run on both OSX and 
MacOS<=9 and the former only on OSX, and eventually the old MacPython will 
probably fade away. Most of the lib stuff (and probably some of the core 
stuff, depending on how things like preference files are solved in MOSX, in 
the unix or the mac way).

> It seems with respect to some of the current threads on this list it would
> be beneficial to have the standard stuff based in the Unix/BSD environment
> and the Mac extensions carbon based, seeing as how Python complies pretty
> much out of the box on the current MacOS X Server. It seems then this would
> eliminate some of the CodeWarrior version headache.

There isn't really all that much of a headache, it's more of a feature really 
(as I seem to keep stressing all the time). Compare this to the Linux 
situation, where your Python will appear to run but suddenly act mysteriously 
or die because you happen to have a different glibc version than what Python 
was compiled with. Not to mention Windows, where the situation is lots lots 
worse because there are numerous libraries on which PythonWin depends.

Whether this feature survives the MacOSX transition I don't know. If MacOSX's 
binary format is PEF-based it probably will, if it is XCOFF-based or something 
else it probably won't.
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