ANN: IPython 0.2.10

[Fernando Pérez]

Announcing an update to IPython, an enhanced interactive Python shell. 

* WHERE: http://www-hep.colorado.edu/~fperez/ipython


* NEW since last public release (ChangeLog included with full details):

- Improvements and fixes to the embedding facilities.

- Integration with pdb, the python debugger. You can now test code (full 
programs) within IPython, have pdb automatically called at an uncaught 
exception, fix the program and re-run it without leaving IPython.

- Use of the readline library is now configurable by the user. Sensible 
defaults are provided,  but anything which readline.parse_and_bind() can 
process can be set by the user in the config file.

- New 'tutorial' profile which allows direct pasting of code with '>>>' and 
'...' in it at the IPython command line (such as commonly found in the Python 
tutorial or on this newsgroup). 

- Improvements to the Gnuplot access system. Now you can open a gnuplot shell 
inside IPython, and go back and forth between the two. Something similar 
could be implemented for any plotting system which supports two-way 
communications.

- Screenshots added to webpage at: 
http://www-hep.colorado.edu/~fperez/ipython/screenshots/index.html

- Many bugfixes, minor improvements and documentation updates.


* NOTE to users of previous versions: after installing the new version, please 
run IPython as 'ipython -up' the first time. This will update all the files 
in the configuration directory so that all new options work correctly. It 
makes a backup of any overwritten files.


* WHAT is IPython? (this is just for context. See the webpage for full 
details). IPython tries to:

1. Provide an interactive shell superior to Python's default. IPython has many 
features for object introspection, system shell access, and its own special 
command system for adding functionality when working interactively. It tries 
to be a very efficient environment both for Python code development and for 
exploration of problems using Python objects (in situations like data 
analysis).

2. Serve as an embeddable, ready to use interpreter for your own programs. 
IPython can be started with a single call from inside another program, 
providing access to the current namespace. This can be very useful both for 
debugging purposes and for situations where a blend of batch-processing and 
interactive exploration are needed.

3. Offer a flexible framework which can be used as the base environment for 
other systems with Python as the underlying language. Specifically scientific 
environments like Mathematica, IDL and Mathcad inspired its design, but 
similar ideas can be useful in many fields.


* Portability: Linux (and other unices, including Mac OSX), Windows XP/2k, 
Win9x (tested on 98, don't really know about 95)


* Python version: requires 2.1 or newer.


* License: LGPL (a few files from third parties carry MIT licenses).


Cheers,

Fernando Perez.