[Pythonmac-SIG] Learning Python on the Mac

[Russell E Owen]

>I downloaded Python 2.1 a couple of weeks ago and have been goofing of with
>it at work on my NT Workstation(blech!) I really like Python and wan't to
>take it a step further and really try and learn the language. I use Mac OS
>9.1 at home and I've gone ahead and installed Python. I was going to buy the
>o'reilly book by Mark Lutz. Does anyone know if I can apply what's in that
>book to the Mac OS distribution of Python or are there glaring differences?
>
>I guess what I'm most concerned about is the lack of a real command line and
>having to deal with all that Mac Toolbox crap I've heard about.

On the whole MacPython works superbly and is a pleasure to use. The 
IDE is nice, and if you prefer you can use BBEdit (with a free 3rd 
party language module) or Pepper (you get syntax coloring (though not 
the ability to run scripts from the editor). You can build 
drag-and-drop applications (that put the list of files into the usual 
arg list) as well as double-clickable applications.

As for a command line...you can get one as you launch a script if you 
want it (hold down the option key to control startup options or 
configure the interpreter to always ask for one).

Most Python libraries work on most platforms (see the docs or Python 
Essential Reference to check on specific libraries).

Some limitations include:
- GUI projects are in a sad state. The only standard GUI library 
ported to Mac OS is Tkinter, and it doesn't work perfectly (though is 
fine for basic stuff). The IDE doesn't work with Tkinter, resulting 
in a slow and clumsy development cycle.
- Mac memory management limits working with very large data sets. I 
hasten to add that this rarely causes me problems and I see few 
complaints here about it.

Regards,

-- Russell