[Pythonmac-SIG] a beginner's list

[Kevin Ollivier]

Hi Chris,

On Feb 8, 2006, at 5:11 PM, Christopher Barker wrote:

> Kevin Ollivier wrote:
>> My point is: When people upgrade Python, anyway, anyhow, their  
>> extensions will break. MacPython 2.4 doesn't do anything more or  
>> less than Apple's Python in stopping that; it simply lets you put  
>> off upgrading your Python should you want to do so.
>
> Right. To be softer: I think it's a good idea to only base your  
> stuff on things you either control or you're confident your OS  
> vendor won't change in the next release. That's why I advocate  
> installing your own Python.
>
>> Python extensions always break when you upgrade the major Python  
>> version. Users *should* be aware of this, regardless of what  
>> platform they use or where they get their Python from.
>
> Sure.
>
>> nothing Apple can do to resolve the problem except stop updating  
>> Python or stop bundling, both of which would be very bad.
>
> Yes, they could. They could keep 2.3.5 around and add 2.4.* to it,  
> rather than replacing it. That's what I do when I upgrade. Then all  
> my utilities still work, while I slowly add all the extensions to  
> the new version. I had 1.5.6, 2.0, 2.2 and 2.3 on my Linux box for  
> a while!
>
> I'm not sure Apple should do that, and if they did, I'm not sure  
> how long they should keep it up -- you could get a lot of python  
> versions lying around after a while!

Yes, true, I had thought about that earlier but forgot to mention  
it. :-) Actually, OS X and Python both seem to be updating with less  
frequency, so they may not mind just adding 2.3 to the mix. We'll  
have to see, I guess. It might be nice if they commit to including  
two versions, i.e. removing 2.3 when 2.5 gets into OS X, which IMHO  
might be a nice solution to the issue. We'll have to see when Leopard  
arrives.

> By the way, Kevin, do you have any idea how hard it's going to be  
> to build wxPython far and with the universal python Bob et. al are  
> working on?

I haven't built the Universal Python sources Bob uploaded yet, but I  
don't anticipate any major issues. The one thing that might happen is  
duplicate -isysroot entries because that gets added into wx-config if  
you build Universal for wxWidgets itself. But sometime in the next  
week or two I hope to devote some time to ironing that out.

Kevin

> -Chris
>
>
> -- 
> Christopher Barker, Ph.D.
> Oceanographer
>                                     		
> NOAA/OR&R/HAZMAT         (206) 526-6959   voice
> 7600 Sand Point Way NE   (206) 526-6329   fax
> Seattle, WA  98115       (206) 526-6317   main reception
>
> Chris.Barker at noaa.gov