We are pleased to announce the availability of both ActivePython 2.6.5.12 and ActivePython 3.1.2.3.

http://www.activestate.com/activepython/

Here is what you should know about these two releases:

PyWin32: PyWin32 is now included in the 64-bit & Python3 builds! Since we recently updated our PyWin32 source tree, this release comes with several bug fixes.

PyPM: There is now an “upgrade” feature in PyPM, our beloved Python Package Manager distributed with ActivePython free of charge. What this means is that if you type “pypm upgrade” it will update all your installed Python Packages to the latest version to save you time and keep you up-to-date.

Switch between Python versions: Also new in this 2.6 release is a new tool called "pythonselect" that can be used to switch between multiple ActivePython versions. This is currently only supported on MacOSX although support for other platforms and, perhaps, other Python installations, is in the roadmap (patches are welcome too!).

Dive Into Python 3: ActivePython 3.1.2.3 now includes Mark Pilgrim’s Dive Into Python 3, the popular advanced tutorial for learning Python3. You can find it in the documentation section.

Miscellaneous: We also updated the base Tcl/Tk version to 8.5.8; added OpenSSL and ctypes support in the 64-bit build; upgraded to openssl-0.9.8l; included Tcl/Tk development headers – among several other bug fixes with IDLE and Tkinter installation. And of course, they use the latest Python version: 2.6.5 and 3.1.2.

See the release notes for full details:

http://docs.activestate.com/activepython/2.6/relnotes.html#changes http://docs.activestate.com/activepython/2.6/relnotes.html#changes

And our blog post on this release:

http://blogs.activestate.com/2010/03/activestate-releases-activepython-2-6-5...

What is ActivePython? ---------------------

ActivePython is ActiveState's binary distribution of Python. Builds for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux are made freely available. Builds for Solaris, HP-UX and AIX, and access to older versions are available with ActivePython Business Edition:

http://www.activestate.com/business_edition/

ActivePython includes the Python core and the many core extensions: zlib and bzip2 for data compression, the Berkeley DB (bsddb) and SQLite (sqlite3) database libraries, OpenSSL bindings for HTTPS support, the Tix GUI widgets for Tkinter, ElementTree for XML processing, ctypes (on supported platforms) for low-level library access, and others. The Windows distribution ships with PyWin32 -- a suite of Windows tools developed by Mark Hammond, including bindings to the Win32 API and Windows COM.

Beginning with the 2.6.3.7 release, ActivePython includes a binary package manager for Python (PyPM) that can be used to install packages much easily. For example:

pypm install pylons

See this page for full details:

http://docs.activestate.com/activepython/2.6/whatsincluded.html

As well, ActivePython ships with a wealth of documentation for both new and experienced Python programmers. In addition to the core Python docs, ActivePython includes the "What's New in Python" series, "Dive into Python", the Python FAQs & HOWTOs, and the Python Enhancement Proposals (PEPs).

An online version of the docs can be found here:

http://docs.activestate.com/activepython/2.6/

We would welcome any and all feedback to:

ActivePython-feedback@activestate.com

Please file bugs against ActivePython at:

http://bugs.activestate.com/query.cgi?set_product=ActivePython

On what platforms does ActivePython run? ----------------------------------------

ActivePython includes installers for the following platforms:

- Windows/x86 - Windows/x64 (aka "AMD64") - Mac OS X - Linux/x86 - Linux/x86_64 (aka "AMD64") - Solaris/SPARC (Business Edition only) - Solaris/x86 (Business Edition only) - HP-UX/PA-RISC (Business Edition only) - AIX/PowerPC (Business Edition only) - AIX/PowerPC 64-bit (Business Edition only)

Custom builds are available in Enterprise Edition:

http://www.activestate.com/activepython/enterprise/

Thanks, and enjoy!

The Python Team

-- Sridhar Ratnakumar sridharr at activestate.com