Thomas Philips wrote:
Question 1: How can I locate the Python installation? There a few files under Applications > MacPython 2.5, but this is clearly not the entire installation.
Have a look in /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.5 > But I do not seem to
be able to see the sequence of folders under the horizontal scroll bar in any finder window. What do I need to do to make the folder sequence visible in all Finder Windows?
You can't -- this feature only exists in the Search window, which is a different kind of window from the normal Finder windows. However, in a normal Finder window, if you click and hold with the Command key on the title displayed in the title bar at the top of the window, you'll get a pop-up menu showing the position of the folder you're looking at in the nesting hierarchy.
Item 2. I downloaded and installed the SciPy superpack from Macinscience,org. Scipy seems to import correctly into the Python 2.5.1 that comes with the Mac, but i cannot import it into MacPython 2.5.2.
I'm not familiar with SciPy distributions, but if it's some sort of double-clickable installer, it's likely that it's only designed to install into the system Python (i.e. the one that comes installed with MacOSX). See if it has installed anything into /Library/Python/2.5/site-packages If so, you could try moving or copying them into /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.5/lib/python2.5/site-packages
Question 5. How can I find the current value of the PYTHONPATH environment variable, and how can I edit it and add a directory in which I keep my Python programs.
To find out its current value, in a Terminal window, echo $PYTHONPATH To have it set each time you open a Terminal window, one way is to put something like this in your ~/.bashrc file: PYTHONPATH=whatever_you_want export PYTHONPATH However, because the filename starts with a dot, it won't show up in the Finder or any Save dialog boxes, making it a bit tricky to edit with a GUI-based text editor. There's some advice here on how to deal with that: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1007602
Question 6. Apparently there's a Property List Editor that must be used to create a file called ~ /.MacOSX/environment.plist. I can't find a directory called ~/.MacOSX. Is this a hidden directory?
I've never tried that method myself, but it sounds plausible. You'll have similar difficulties with the name .MacOSX not showing up in the Finder. However, you can get to it using the "Go To Folder..." command under the "Go" menu in the Finder and typing in the full pathname. If there isn't already an environment.plist file there, you may have to save it somewhere else first and then drag it into the .MacOSX folder. The Property List Editor comes with the Developer Tools and lives in /Developer/Applications/Utilities.
Item 4. I opened a terminal window, and typed ipython. Here's what I got: /Users/tom/.ipython WARNING: Installation error. IPython's directory was not found.
It's quite likely that this will correct itself once you get the relevant files into the right site-packages folder. Also, if this is your only reason for wanting to set PYTHONPATH, you may not have to worry about that either.
I never thought I'd say this, but it actually seemed a lot easier to get Python and any associated programs up and running on Windows! I suspect that a large fraction of my troubles are due to the fact that I am brand new to the Mac and to Unix, but I bought the Mac in part because I thought that using it was effortless.
It's generally pretty smooth (although different from Windows in many ways, so you do need to learn some new things) as long as you stick to GUI-style applications. Python doesn't quite fit into that way of working, however. You need to know a bit about what's going on underneath, particularly when managing your own Python installation. The way I approach Python on MacOSX is to treat it as a Unix system and use the standard Python method of installing packages, i.e. use Python to run a setup.py file. This ensures that the package will be installed into whichever Python is being used to run the setup.py. Apart from the initial installation of Python itself, I never use an installer to install a Python package if I can avoid it. I wouldn't trust it to install into the right Python version. -- Greg -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
