[Matrix-SIG] Re: [Pythonmac-SIG] plplot on the Mac

[Just van Rossum]

At 12:55 -0700 4/30/98, Rob Managan wrote:
>I am trying to get a final version of an updated macintosh plplot module to
>work with Python 1.5. Let me know if you are interested in getting a copy.
>
>I have a question for Mac users. The plplot library stores fonts and maps
>in a 'lib' folder and on unix boxes an environment variable is set to tell
>the library where to find the files. My thinking is to use the Preferences
>folder in some way. Would it be better to have a preference file that
>stores the environment variables (similar to what pgplot does) or just move
>the 'lib' file into the Preferences folder and look for them there? One
>problem is keeping the file updated if the user moves the 'lib' file to
>another location on the disk.
>
>Either approach requires you to put something into the Preferences folder.
>This is not as user friendly as I would like but is better than losing the
>text in the plots!

I'd say, use the Python approach, which is to put a file containing an alias
pointing to the lib into the preferences folder. That way, if the user moves
the lib folder to a different location on the same volume, the alias will
still
point to the correct place. See the Python sources and EditPythonPrefs.py for
examples on how to do that.

Just