Newbie question Python on Windows ME

[Alex Martelli]

"Gerson Kurz" <gerson.kurz at t-online.de> wrote in message
news:3b7bf8e9.8917437 at news.t-online.de...
> On 16 Aug 2001 09:39:51 -0700, s.franke at flowstate.com (stefan) wrote:
>
> > Are there any tutorials for beginners on the internet that are
> >specifically written for Windows?
>
> For windows I would recommend using the Pythonwin IDE that is part of
> www.activestate.com/activepython. [There was I think a standalone
> distro of Pythonwin although I don't know of its status].

It's still available, as part of Activestate's win32all add-on to
the standard Python distribution.  In other words, if you start
with the standard Python distribution, you can later download
from ActiveState, and install later, win32all, and get pretty
close to where ActivePython would have gotten you in the first
place (not quite, though).

> - Pythonwin is an excellent GUI ide - on Windows most people don't
> like the commandline, and especially on the 9x/ME series the
> commandline is seriously lacking in features. It has a builtin editor

But IDLE comes with standard Python and works fine (you'll prefer
PythonWin if you like the MDI style, but that's now passe on Win32).

> with syntax highlighting, folding, etc. It has a nice debugger. It
> integrates with SourceSafe etc.
> - Searchable (CHM) Helpfiles

You can get good CHM files at
http://www.orgmf.com.ar/condor/pytstuff.html.  It may be
worth doing even if you have ActivePython, since those
add more material, such as the FAQs and /F's Tkinter intro.

> - ActivePython has much deeper Windows integration. (eg, you can use
> COM objects in it, use it for client-side browser scripting and all
> sorts of fine stuff)

You get all this with the win32all add-on, too.


Don't get me wrong: ActivePython is excellent -- I'm just pointing
out that there are interesting alternatives, too (though they'd all
be almost for naught were it not for win32all...:-).


Alex