[Edu-sig] IDLE wish (was Edu-sig Digest, Vol 31, Issue 16)

[Arthur]

kirby urner wrote:

>>kirby urner
>>
>>Kirby - question 1.  Do you understand why your messages are coming to me as
>>html? Makes it difficult to reply in normal form.
>>    
>>
>
>No, didn't realize.  Using Google's gmail.  How about this one?
>
>  
>
Not sure, because I am now at a machine using Thunderbird, rather than 
Outlook.  It seems fine, but it might be just that Thunderbird handles 
the issue better than Outlook, though I am sure I have Outlook 
configured to reply in text and quote/indent the original message 
appropriately, and it ain't happening.

>Just a nitpicky comment that "Python's core" tends to mean "core
>Python" and there's no move to inject a Turtle at that level.  As
>close as we get is turtle.py in the Standard Library.  Python's other
>turtles are outside even that.
>  
>
On the subject of the Standard Distribution, I have one and only one 
wish that I think would make the environment more beginner friendly- a 
good bang for the buck proposition..  And that it an IDLE that can 
accept command line  arguments.

There is a very specific reason why I think this is important. Gregor,  
or Art, or whoever has developed a module that  works hard to  be 
accessible to an average computer user.  And have the appropriate 
setup.py file created.  And the beginning of the  relationship with the 
user is a need to explain to them to go to the command line (the what?) 
and type, getting the path to where their zip file extracted itself 
exactly right. 

Not the way I want to begin the relationship.  What I want to say is to 
go to their normal Windows Start/Programs Files routine and under 
Python2x open up the IDLE environment, use the File/Open dialog as you 
have a million times before to find and open the setup.py file, and hit  
w/ Parameters selection  under the Run Menu option and type in 
"install". Even that process is a little geekier than many like to get, 
and some will probably drop off, but that's OK with me- that much effort 
might be acceptable to expect as the price of admission. 

*After* using Gergor's, or Art's, or whoever's module for a time - 
something like going to the command line and typing something to get 
something done will not seem so out of the ordinary.  But we are not 
there yet, and won't be getting there as often we might with this one 
little enhancement to IDLE.

Excellent point, Art.

Bring it up on the IDLE-Dev list.

Well I have found the IDLE-Dev list to be a bit of  a sink hole.

Art