comparing alternatives to py2exe

[Jonathan Hartley]

On Nov 6, 3:07 pm, Kevin Walzer <k... at codebykevin.com> wrote:
> On 11/3/09 10:58 AM, Jonathan Hartley wrote:
>
> > Hi,
>
> > Recently I put together this incomplete comparison chart in an attempt
> > to choose between the different alternatives to py2exe:
>
> >http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tZ42hjaRunvkObFq0bKxVdg&output...
>
> I noticed information on py2app was mostly missing from your chart.
>
> --single exe file: yes, with qualification. On the Mac, standalone
> applications are actually directories called "application bundles"
> designed to look like a single file that can be double-clicked on. So, a
> lot of stuff--the Python libraries, icons, other resource files--are
> hidden inside the app bundle.
>
> --without unzipping at runtime--Yes.
> --control over output directory structure--no.
>
> --creates installer too: yes, with qualification. If you're building an
> app, you don't use an installer--the standard Mac method is
> drag-and-drop installation. You can also use py2app to package up Python
> libraries, and for these, it can create a standard Mac pkg installer.
>
> --Python 3--not yet, as far as I know.
> --can run as -O--not sure.
> --control over process/ouput--not sure what this means.
> --distribution size--Varies widely. A big Python application with lots
> of libraries can exceed 100 megabytes, easily. A Python/Tkinter app with
> no other extensions would weigh in at about 20 megabytes--that's the
> smallest.
> --active development--some, but only in svn. Last stable release was a
> few years ago.
> --active mailing list--no standalone mailing list, but the PythonMac-sig
> mailing list has lots of discussion and bug reporting on py2app.
>
> --
> Kevin Walzer
> Code by Kevinhttp://www.codebykevin.com

Kevin,

Also:

You are right that my 'control over process/output' is not at all
clear. I shall think about what actual goal I'm trying to achieve with
this, and re-describe it in those terms.

Plus, as others have suggested, my guesstimate of 'distribution size'
would probably be more usefully described as 'size overhead', ie. how
big would the distribution be for a one-line python console 'hello
world' script. I hope to try it out and see.

Best regards,
  Jonathan