Couple of Qs: ActiveState or "standard" distribution? (and GUI toolkits)

[Trent Mick]

[David LeBlanc wrote]
> The difference between AS Python and Python.org Python are:
> 
>  * AS Python includes PythonWin. PythonWin is available separately for
> python.org Python.
>  * AS includes a Windows Scripting Host interface that is not otherwise
> available anywhere AFAIK.
>  * AS distribution can't be redistributed under the terms of it's license
> without permission.
> 
> So, if you want to do Python scripts/macros in Excel or Word (or IE?),
> you'll need to get AS Python. If that's not so important to you, then it's
> either or... If you want to bundle a Python distro with an app and
> redistribute it, python.org Python is the only choice compared to AS Python
> (there are, or where, other distros of Python - see www.pythonware.com for
> one). My choice has to been to lean towards what I see as the more open
> solution of python.org Python and the separate PythonWin distribution.

This is not accurate. ActivePython does not have any special WSH
interface that is not available otherwise.

Here is a description of what you get with ActivePython:
    http://www.activestate.com/Products/ActivePython/more_information.plex

The differences with the PythonLabs distribution are basically:
    - On Windows, Mark Hammond's PyWin32 distribution is installed by
      default. This package includes PythonWin (a Python IDE), and
      interfaces to the Win32 API and Windows COM.
    - more bundled documentation
    - On Windows, documentation comes in compiled help format, .chm.
      (Although I think very recent PythonLabs' installers do too?)
    - A fancy MSI installer on Windows
    - PyPPM. This is a command line tool that makes it easy to installer
      certain popular third-party Python modules, like PIL, Numeric,
      PyChecker, PyXML, etc.

Cheers,
Trent


-- 
Trent Mick
TrentM at ActiveState.com