maintain 2 versions of python on my computer

[Alf P. Steinbach]

* Gertjan Klein:
> Alf P. Steinbach wrote:
> 
>> * Gertjan Klein:
>>> What I've been thinking about is to write a single [Windows] executable that
>>> gets associated with .py and .pyw (instead of python.exe itself).
>> Well, you need two: one for console subsystem, and one for GUI subsystem.
> 
> Why? I'd have imagined writing something for the GUI subsystem (without
> actually creating a GUI, just to prevent a DOS box popping up), creating
> the proper commandline, with either python.exe or pythonw.exe, and
> launching that as a separate process. (I have no idea whether this would
> actually work though -- I'm just thinking out loud at this stage.)
> 
> Thinking about it some more, perhaps that way I can't get at return
> codes a python script might provide. I haven't used those, but they may
> be useful at some point.

Return codes work OK no matter what.

But it's a hassle for the user to connect up standard input, standard output and 
standard error for a GUI subsystem process.

That's mainly why the distinction between [.py] and [.pyw] is there in Windows: 
the former is associated with console subsystem interpreter ensuring that the 
standard streams are connected up automatically, the latter is associated with 
GUI subsystem interpreter ensuring no automatic console window.


>> If it's OK with C++, I just sat down and wrote this.
> 
> Thanks for that. I won't be using it though; I don't know C++ at all,
> and the source looks like complete gobbledygook to me. I wouldn't know
> where to begin to change anything in it. ;-)

Ah, well.

Perhaps do this in JScript or VBScript (languages bundled with Windows)? There 
may be less startup overhead than with Python. But I haven't checked.



Cheers,

- Alf