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

[Andre Roberge]

On 3/6/06, ajsiegel at optonline.net <ajsiegel at optonline.net> wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Dethe Elza <delza at livingcode.org>
>
> >
> > python -c "import urllib; urllib.main()" \
> > http://peak.telecommunity.com/dist/ez_setup.py \
> > | python - -U setuptools
>
> My point exactly - for the audience that I am focusing on and that with which  many
> on edu-sig are concerned.
>
> >
> > > My point about IDLE not running setup.py is and was exactly to
> > this issue.  I still wish
> > > I could get some substantive reaction,  I think it important.
> >
> > I missed the point about IDLE not running setup.py, but I can guess
> > that running setup.py inside another process could confuse it when it
> > tries to do dependency analysis to see which files to include.
>
> It's much more fundamental than that.
>
> How does one run any script from IDLE that requires a parameter?
>
> The fact that there isn't a straightforward, obvious GUI based way to do so is the
> issue.  A setup.py script requires a parameter - "install".
>
> We are back to the command line, and new territory for many, before we have
> had the oppurtunity to influence them in the direction that ideally, it should not be.
>
> One might accept that the absence of a "run with parameter" menu item is a vote
> for minimalism.  I recently voted for minimalism myself, someplace ;).
>
> To me, the concern of getting folks access to libraries and applications in a manner
> not so far outside their normal experience overrides any appreciation of IDLE's
> minimalism in this respect
>
> No other battery included is up to the job, and I suspect that this is a small amendment to
> the IDLE codebase.
>
> And directing them to IDLE to do an install is a natural way of introducing IDLE, and the
> concept of a programmers' editor, period.
>

(inspired by some other posts about silent agreements on this list and
wanting to break this tradition ;-)

Art: You've made some excellent points! +1

André

> Art
>