[Pythonmac-SIG] Distributing Python applications for the Mac

[Bob Ippolito]

On Jan 4, 2004, at 8:23 AM, Konrad Hinsen wrote:

> Having regular access to a Mac now, I would like to prepare 
> Mac-friendly
> distributions of my scientific applications, all written in Python. 
> The goal
> is to make them available to users who don't know nor care much about 
> Python,
> so the installation procedure should be as simple as possible.
>
> At the moment I see two options:
>
> 1) Via fink. Very easy to do for me (so easy that I'll do it anyway), 
> but my
>    impression is that fink is not the Mac user's idea of user 
> friendliness.

Not the typical Mac user's idea of friendliness, but pretty popular in 
the scientific community.  That may be just the ticket for your 
applications, whatever they are.

> 2) On top of MacPython using the package manager. That looks simpler 
> for
>    the users, but it seems to be a significant effort for me. I would 
> have to
>    provide a package directory on my Web server and prepare binary
>    packages for all combinations of Python and MacOS versions, because
>    automatic installation from source code doesn't work due to the 
> header
>    file installation problems (all my C modules are based on NumPy).

Package Manager is only good for distributing Python packages (as in a 
collection of Python modules/extensions), not applications.  It doesn't 
sound like you're trying to distribute Python packages, because "users 
who don't know nor care much about Python" aren't going to have any use 
for them.

> I am not terribly enthusiastic about either option. Is there perhaps 
> another
> one? My wish list is:
>
> - Simple installation for the user, via an installer or through simple 
> file
>   copy operations.
> - Possibility to prepare distributions for a wide range of machines 
> having
>   only a single one for packaging (MacOS 10.3.2, MacPython 2.3.3).
> - Automatic generation of distribution packages from the development
>   source code.

Why don't you tell us what your applications are and how they are used? 
  It makes a difference.  For example, if the applications are X11 based 
or have no GUI you're probably better off just trying to get them in 
Fink.  However, if the applications have some sort of native GUI you 
may want to distribute application bundles with an embedded version of 
Python and any included extensions, since you can't depend on them 
being installed and Apple doesn't provide Python 2.3.3 with any version 
of Mac OS X.

-bob
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