Bug(s) in Python 3.1.1 Windows installation

[Alf P. Steinbach]

* Mark Hammond:
> On 29/10/2009 11:06 AM, Alf P. Steinbach wrote:
> 
>> So I suggest switching to some other more light-weight installer
>> technology.
> 
> Thanks for the suggestion, but I expect we will stick with MSI even with 
> its shortcomings.  Using MSI files has significant other advantages, 
> particularly in "managed" environments.

Hm, yes, isn't that always so...


>> (2) Failure to set up PATH.
> 
> This is by design.  If you really care passionately about this, you 
> should be able to find a number of discussions here, in python-dev and 
> in the python bug tracker.
> 
> One example of why the current behaviour is useful is that many people 
> install multiple Python versions side-by-side and a "last installed 
> wins" strategy isn't a great option.

This rationale is then inconsistent with the installer setting up file 
associations (the same argument should apply there if it was valid).

But please don't remove the setting up of file associations, for it would then 
require any novice to learn about paths and directories and the Windows registry 
and whatnot before even creating first program.

A reasonable solution is, I think, to check and give the user the choice, with 
default to Just Do It if there is no apparent conflict. :-)


>> Even after setting up a correct PATH Tkinter does not work:
> 
> I suspect this will be a Python 3.x issue - you probably want to stick 
> with 2.x.

Ethan Furman suggested that in Python 3.x the name was changed to all lowercase 
"tkinter", and that worked...

I don't understand how it works, yet, since there's no file [tkinter.*] 
anywhere, but, it works! :-)

Summarizing the main differences 2.6 -> 3.1.1 that I know of so far: print is 
now a function (nice), "/" now always produces float result (unsure about that, 
it must surely break a lot or even most of existing code?), xrange() has been 
removed and range() now works like old xrange().


Cheers,

- Alf