I envy newbies

[Ivan Van Laningham]

Hi All--

"Paul M." wrote (to mary jeanette):
> 

[lots of other good advice snipped]

> 
> If you're flustered by anything even remotely resembling a command
> window I believe (but am not sure) that the latest installer even puts
> a shortcut to IDLE (a nice tk driven interpretter/programming
> environment) in your Python folder on your Start>Programs>Python
> window.
> 

While the installer indeed puts a shortcut into your Python menu folder,
it fails to put one on your desktop.  It helps to have a shortcut on
your desktop.  Here's how, mary jeanette:

(I quote from _Teach Yourself Python in 24 Hours_ (forthcoming from
SAMS)):

``The first thing you need to do is to find where IDLE lives, and to do
that you need to know where Python lives; this should be simple, since
the Python directory should be in your path. On all my Windows systems,
Python is in "C:\Python", and you should open a Windows Explorer Window
in the Python directory. Within the Python directory, you should find
several folders, one of which is named "Tools"; enter that directory,
and that should contain another folder called "IDLE". Inside the IDLE
folder you should see an icon for "idle.py", and right next to it should
be "idle.pyw", which is the one we're looking for. Right click on the
idle.pyw icon, and select "Create Shortcut" on the popup menu; Windows
should create a whole new icon for you, entitled "Shortcut to idle.pyw".
Grab that icon and drop it on your desktop; you can change the name if
you wish, and you can even change the icon (although I happen to like
that cute little green python) to whatever you want. Once you're 
satisfied with the desktop location and appearance of your IDLE
shortcut, double-click on it to start it running.''

> It might help to know at least something about the OS you're using
> (e.g., to set your path to include the Python install directory so you
> can access the interpretter from any command line) - even if you do
> find it appalling.  However, the standard install makes it incredibly
> easy, even for the clueless.
> 

The installer does modify your autoexec.bat to include the Python path
on W95/98.  I seem to recall having to modify my path environment
variable on Windows NT, however, and it should.

> If all this is STILL too obscure, then yes, perhaps you should learn
> Perl, which I hear is known for its extreme readability and ease of
> use ;)
> 

As Christian Tismer says, "flea dirt."  And a more apt description of
Perl I have yet to encounter.

<unless-it-had-to-do-with-yellow-snow>-ly y'rs,
Ivan
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Ivan Van Laningham
Callware Technologies, Inc.
ivanlan at callware.com
ivanlan at home.com
http://www.pauahtun.org
See also: 
http://www.foretec.com/python/workshops/1998-11/proceedings.html
Army Signal Corps:  Cu Chi, Class of '70
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