Windows and python execution

[Mark Carter]

Bengt Richter wrote:

>>>And there is a PATHEXT environment variable, 
>>
>>Aha. You'bve provided a significant clue.
>>
>>What you need to do is include the following line in autoexec.bat:
>>set .py=c:\python24\python.exe
>>
>>This will achieve the desired result. I'm suprised more people don't use it.
> 
> I wasn't aware of that syntax for set. What OS/platform/shell is that from?

Windows XP, bog-standard default shell. UNIXers have it easy because 
they can use the normal "shebang".

> How did you go from the PATHEXT "clue" to the set command you specify 

I can't remember. It was a bit of luck, I think. I happened upon:
http://www.jpsoft.com/help/index.htm?exeext.htm
probably as a result of Googling for PATHEXT.

> and decide
> not to set pathext, e.g., by something like
>     set PATHEXT=%PATHEXT%;.py
> Does your set do the pathext and assoc and ftype all in one swell foop?

Actually, I haven't figured out what PATHEXT is actually supposed to 
"do". It seemed to me that Windows couldn't possibly know that a py file 
should be started by python.exe, whereas my
	set .py= ...
would.

I had installed python 2.4 in the standard way, so py files were already 
associated with python when you double-clicked them from Explorer. Using 
my set meant that if I wanted to use py files from the command line, I 
could just type out the script name (you have to be in the right 
directory, of course), and it works. Here's a snippit from my 
autoexec.bat files:
set PATH=C:\python24;%PATH%
set .py=c:\python24\python.exe