[Pythonmac-SIG] not "MacPython" - right place?

[Ronald Oussoren]

On 20-jul-2005, at 21:35, William K wrote:

>
>
>>> I figured it out, partly.  While the site-packages is linked to /
>>> Library/Python, headers are still put into the /System/Library
>>> Python framework.  So I used --install-headers=/Library/Python/2.3/
>>> site-include.  Is there a standard name for a site headers folder
>>> in /Library/Python?
>>>
>>> The problem is, there is no option in bdist to specify an install-
>>> headers location, at least not in the package I'm looking at
>>> (Numeric).
>>>
>>>
>>
>> If you put the headers anywhere else, they're useless because
>> nothing will find them.  Take the purist hat off, or install a non-
>> System distro of Python (e.g. Python 2.4.1).
>>
>>
> Is that a Python thing, or a slipup by Apple in their distro of
> Python?  That seems a bit limiting if you can put libraries/modules
> where you want, but force headers to be in one location to be usable
> (while still letting you install them anywhere).

It's a python thing. Distutils (which is used to build extentions)  
knows only of 1 location for header files, which is basically is  
``os.path.join(sys.prefix, 'include')``. Teaching distutils to do The  
Right Thing(TM) wouldn't be too hard, but does need someone who is  
willing to do the work, and is able to sell the solution to the  
python developers.

>
>
>>
>> unless you really want to do things yourself, the best bet is to  
>> first
>> look and see if the package you need is at:
>>
>> www.pythonmac.org/packages
>>
>
> No Numeric for Tiger.

See below.
>
>
>> If it does worry you so much, then install Python 2.4.1, which places
>> its files in /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework and be done with  
>> it.
>>
>
> You mean MacPython, right?  Is there a separate MacPython installer
> for Tiger?  The one I found (from March) says it's for Panther, and
> I'm a bit cautious of installing something meant for Panther on
> Tiger.  Are there any problems running that one on Tiger?

You can use the same installer on Tiger. OS X is backward compatible,  
programs build on 10.3 will continue to run on 10.4. Furthermore  
python 2.4.1 doesn't contain code that could take advantage of the  
new APIs in Tiger, therefore rebuilding MacPython 2.4 for Tiger  
doesn't buy you a lot.

Summary: go ahead an install MacPython 2.4 on Tiger :-)

Ronald