[Pythonmac-SIG] install again?

[Kevin Walzer]

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Charles Hartman wrote:
> Hence, yet again, a plea for newbies everywhere:
> 
> I continue to believe that it really, really shouldn't be necessary for
> people who want to write programs in Python for the Mac to do all this.
> Great to learn as much as possible, yes, always -- but to require
> people, just to get started, to learn about shells and the Terminal,
> which they may never have dealt with before, even if they have a variety
> of Mac programming experience, is not to put Python on its best footing.
> 

It *isn't* necessary to do all that. Just use the vendor-provided
Python, type "python" in your shell, and you are ready to go.

However, there are limits to how much complexity can be hidden. Under
the hood, OS X is Unix, and if you want to program in a Unix
environment, that requires a certain amount of knowledge. There's just
no way around it.

Additionally, if one has "a variety of Mac programming experience," then
learning the conventions of the Unix shell shouldn't prove too
difficult. The only exception to this that I can think of is if one's
Mac programming experience consists solely of AppleScript.

Just to continue the conversation, what do *you* think is the best
approach? How should Python be made easier than it already is (and,
frankly, compared to C, it's pretty easy)? What special difficulties or
obstacles does the Mac platform present to learning Python that are not
also present on other platforms?

- --
Cheers,

Kevin Walzer, PhD
WordTech Software - "Tame the Terminal"
http://www.wordtech-software.com
sw at wordtech-software.com
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