The IDLEfork 0.9 Alpha 2 release is now available for download at: http://sourceforge.net/projects/idlefork/ The distribution is available as a Windows Installer, as a Python2 RPM, and in source form as a .tar.gz. Please read the release notes (which include installation instructions) at Sourceforge for additional details. 0.9 Alpha 2 Highlights ====================== The shell is now annotated to indicate a restart, and can be restarted from the Shell window. There is a new Shell menu. Expanded Additional Help feature: Can now use a web URL and browse for local help files. Help sources have been moved to the main Help menu. Exceptions under debugger control now show the correct traceback. Fixed class and path browsers to work with Python 2.3. Multiple bug fixes and usability enhancements, see the Changes section of the SF release docs. IDLEfork ======== IDLEfork is an official experimental branch of Python's Integrated DeveLopment Environment, IDLE. The biggest change in IDLEfork is to execute Python code in a separate process, which is /restarted/ for each Run (F5) initiated from an editor window. This enhancement of IDLE has often been requested, and is now finally available. The magic "reload/import *" incantations are no longer required when editing/testing a module two or three steps down the import chain. The IDLE Debugger has been extended to support the new design, and its operation will be familiar to those who have used it previously. The breakpoint feature has been enhanced, and breakpoints are now persistent across IDLE sessions. When a module is open in an Edit window, its breakpoints are active. There is also a new GUI configuration manager which makes it easy to select fonts, colors, keybindings, and startup options. IDLEfork will be merged back into the Python distribution in the near future (probably at 2.3), replacing the current version of IDLE. For this reason we are interested in getting as much testing time as possible before the merge. As David Scherer aptly put it in the original IDLEfork README, "It is alpha software and might be unstable. If it breaks, you get to keep both pieces." If you find bugs let us know about them by using the IDLEfork Bug Tracker. See the IDLEfork home page at http://idlefork.sourceforge.net for details. Patches are always appreciated at the IDLEfork Patch Tracker, and Change Requests at the RFE Tracker at https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=9579&atid=359579 Thanks for trying IDLEfork.