[Pythonmac-SIG] Install location

[Ronald Oussoren]

On 10-apr-2006, at 23:14, Trent Mick wrote:

> [Timothy Reaves wrote]
>> 	Why is it the installer at http://www.python.org/download/releases/
>> 2.4.3/ install into /Applications ?  Why does it not install as a
>> framework?  ActiveState Python does, although they still user /usr/
>> local/bin for the links.
>
> As Bob and Ronald mentions the differences aren't quite that big.
> Both MacPython and ActivePython install core Python as a framework.
>
> The main differences are where the small apps associated with  
> Python are
> placed. Similar to Apple's Python in /System/Library/Frameworks,
> ActivePython places Python.app, PythonLauncher.app and IDLE.app under
> the Resources dir in the framework area:
>     /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.4/Resources/ 
> Python.app

Python.app should be in the framework, the only reason it exists is  
to make
Apple's WindowServer happy. It is needed for GUI code in scripts and  
is the
binary started by the pythonw command.

PythonLauncher and IDLE are normal applications and should IMHO be in a
location where users can click on them, which means the Applications  
folder.


>
> The old (now deprecated) Mac "Python IDE.app" was never included in
> ActivePython.

Good for you! I hope we can completely remove it for Python 2.5 (and my
the universal build also doesn't install it)

>
> Ronald,
>
> There was discussion a while back to change the MacPython installer to
> NOT put symlinks in /usr/local/bin, but instead put the full
>     /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.4/bin
> on the user's PATH (either doing so automatically or showing the user
> how) so that setup.py-installed script would get on the PATH as well.
>
> Does the universal MacPython build do this or is it still the plan  
> to do
> so? I was planning to move from using /usr/local/bin to the full
> framework path in a future ActivePython.

We do both at the moment: install symlinks in /usr/local/bin and make
sure that the directory inside the framework is on $PATH by editing the
shell profile of the user.

Ronald
>
> Cheers,
> Trent
>
> -- 
> Trent Mick
> TrentM at ActiveState.com