[Python-Dev] IDLE in the stdlib

[Paul Moore]

On 21 March 2013 06:54, Devin Jeanpierre <jeanpierreda at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 2:42 AM, Terry Reedy <tjreedy at udel.edu> wrote:
>> I think being frozen in the late 1990s is better than being frozen in the
>> early 1980s, like Command Prompt is. In fact, I think we should 'deprecate'
>> the Command Prompt interpreter as the standard interactive interpreter and
>> finish polishing and de-glitching IDLE's Python Shell, which runs on top of
>> the windowless version of CP with a true GUI. Then we can promote and
>> present the latter as the preferred interface, which for many people, it
>> already is.
>
> Please don't cease supporting the command line interface. I use the
> command line interactive interpreter plenty. That way I can use git,
> grep, the unit test suite, etc. ... and the interactive interpreter,
> all from one place: the console.
>
> That can't happen with IDLE, by design.

Agreed. Command line Python is 100% of my usage, and removing it would
make Python unusable for me.

If what is being suggested is removing the "Python Command Line"
*shortcuts* that are installed by default, but leaving the console
"python.exe" program, then I have no view on that, as I don't use
those shortcuts (and if I did, I could set them up myself). But before
removing them, why not consider setting the defaults to be more
helpful (larger scrollback buffer, things like quick edit set on, etc)
if that's the real issue here? I'm not saying it is, but some of the
complaints about "the default experience" *can* be fixed simply by
changing the defaults.

Paul.