[Edu-sig] question about livewires package. . .
Arthur
ajsiegel at optonline.net
Mon Nov 21 18:39:04 CET 2005
John Zelle wrote:
>
>VPython runs a GTK (I think) event loop in a separate thread, to stay
>interactive in IDLE.
>
I believe this is true on Unix, but that VPython uses a native OpenGL
capable window on Windows.
It has seemed to me that VPython event loop handling is problematic.
The IDLE event loop, I believe, evolved in part in an effort to
accommodate VPython - as David Scherer, the author of VPython, was also
the author of the idle-fork branch that was eventually merged into IDLE
proper.
Other IDEs and prompts - Pythonwin, and ipython, for example, cannot
handle VPython - closing altogether when a VPython window closes. Both
Pythonwin and ipython are mature and widely used - so I do tend to think
of it as a VPython issue.
Not sure what the cake and eat-it possibilities are, i.e. whether it is
possible to maintain the VPython interactivity while having it play
better with others.
And I do sometimes wonder whether the IDLE event loop handling has been
overcomplicated by the effort to accommodate VPython - though I am glad
the effort has been made.
Lots of this is C, and not something I am configured to understand too
deeply - though as PyGeo wraps itself around VPython, it is an issue in
which I am quite interested, and do try to follow.
The other big issue being VPython on the Mac - where I know there are
installation issues, but I also know progress is being made (I think
Dethe is looking at it, for one). I am close to buying a used Mac,
feeling it necessary to get some handle on what folks are confronting here.
Art
More information about the Edu-sig
mailing list