[Python-bugs-list] [ python-Bugs-824756 ] IDLE fails to start on Win2000

Thu Oct 16 15:32:33 EDT 2003

Bugs item #824756, was opened at 2003-10-16 13:51
Message generated for change (Comment added) made by theller
You can respond by visiting: 
https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&atid=105470&aid=824756&group_id=5470

Category: IDLE
Group: Python 2.3
Status: Open
Resolution: None
Priority: 5
Submitted By: Keith Briggs (kbriggs)
Assigned to: Nobody/Anonymous (nobody)
Summary: IDLE fails to start on Win2000

Initial Comment:
The new python-2.3.2-1.exe has not fixed the IDLE problem.
I have two Windows 2000 machines (not running
firewalls) on which IDLE
does not start.     Python itself works perfectly.

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>Comment By: Thomas Heller (theller)
Date: 2003-10-16 21:32

Message:
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I didn't mean that the Python installer sets these envvars
systemwide, I meant that Python should know where a usable
Tcl/Tk is installed.  How this is communicated to Tkinter I
don't know.

But, worse, I find it a shame that IDLE cannot start because
of this (or another problem) without pythonw trying to give
the poor user *any* hint about what's wrong.

Why isn't it the default for pythonw to redirect stderr into
a MessageBox?

I suggest to close *this* bug with either "won't fix".

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Comment By: Tim Peters (tim_one)
Date: 2003-10-16 21:17

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If Python set Tcl/Tk envars, it would be as anti-social as 
Ruby.  If Ruby managed Tcl/Tk the way Python managed it, 
everyone would co-exist peacefully.

pythonw has nowhere to display a traceback -- it doesn't 
have a console (and not having a console is the point of 
pythonw -- that one's not shallow <wink>).

"It would be nice" if it pythonw opened a message window to 
display tracebacks.  As is, programs that try to write to 
stdout or stderr under pythonw can even crash (Windows 
doesn't complain if you try to write to stdout or stderr then, 
but they're hooked up to something that crashes on some 
systems if you write "too much").

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Comment By: Thomas Heller (theller)
Date: 2003-10-16 20:50

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Hm, python.exe and pythonw.exe *could* set it's own envvars.
Maybe. Or not.

But anyway, shouldn't pythonw.exe be able to display tracebacks?

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Comment By: Tim Peters (tim_one)
Date: 2003-10-16 19:46

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You installed Ruby.  The Ruby installer is anti-social in the 
way it sets up Tcl/Tk.  Look in your environment for envars 
starting with TCL and TK.  The Ruby installer sets those, 
which forces every program trying to use Tcl or Tk to use 
Ruby's version of Tcl and Tk.  There's nothing Python can do 
about that.  Get rid of the envars and Python will run fine.

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Comment By: Keith Briggs (kbriggs)
Date: 2003-10-16 19:11

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There are no spaces in the path.

d:\Python23\python.exe "d:\Python23\Lib\idlelib\idle.pyw"

 gives...

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "d:\Python23\Lib\idlelib\idle.pyw", line 4, in ?
    main()
  File "D:\Python23\lib\idlelib\PyShell.py", line 1269, in main
    root = Tk(className="Idle")
  File "D:\Python23\lib\lib-tk\Tkinter.py", line 1564, in __init__
    self.tk = _tkinter.create(screenName, baseName, 
className)
_tkinter.TclError: Can't find a usable init.tcl in the following 
directories: 
    {d:\ruby\tcl\lib\tcl8.3} {d:\ruby\tcl\lib\tcl8.3} 
d:/ruby/tcl/lib/tcl8.4 D:/Python23/lib/tcl8.4 D:/lib/tcl8.4 
D:/library

d:/ruby/tcl/lib/tcl8.3/init.tcl: version conflict for 
package "Tcl": have 8.4, need 8.3
version conflict for package "Tcl": have 8.4, need 8.3
    while executing
"package require -exact Tcl 8.3"
    (file "d:/ruby/tcl/lib/tcl8.3/init.tcl" line 19)
    invoked from within
"source d:/ruby/tcl/lib/tcl8.3/init.tcl"
    ("uplevel" body line 1)
    invoked from within
"uplevel #0 [list source $tclfile]"
d:/ruby/tcl/lib/tcl8.3/init.tcl: version conflict for 
package "Tcl": have 8.4, need 8.3
version conflict for package "Tcl": have 8.4, need 8.3
    while executing
"package require -exact Tcl 8.3"
    (file "d:/ruby/tcl/lib/tcl8.3/init.tcl" line 19)
    invoked from within
"source d:/ruby/tcl/lib/tcl8.3/init.tcl"
    ("uplevel" body line 1)
    invoked from within
"uplevel #0 [list source $tclfile]"

This probably means that Tcl wasn't installed properly.

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Comment By: Thomas Heller (theller)
Date: 2003-10-16 18:55

Message:
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Can you provide some more details, please?
Did you install Python in a directory containing spaces or not?

Do you get a traceback if you try to start IDLE from the
command line with python.exe instead of python2.exe: open a
DOS box aka command prompt, and enter something like
C:\Python23\python.exe "C:\Python23\Lib\idlelib\idle.pyw"

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You can respond by visiting: 
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