[Pythonmac-SIG] Trouble installing Tkinter with 2.3.5/10.2

[Kevin Walzer]

Anthony Kozar wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I am a new member of the list and I joined because I am having trouble
> installing Tkinter with 2.3.5 on OS X 10.2.8.  I have Jack's MacPython 2.3.5
> installed and I downloaded and installed TclTk Aqua 8.4.6 today.  But when I
> run the MacPython Package Manager, it displays an HTTP 404 error for the URL
> of the repository (some subdirectory of www.python.org/packman).  In fact, I
> get a 404 error in my browser for that parent directory too, so it appears
> that all of the support for this Package Manager app is gone (??).  I
> searched the wiki and mailing list and could discover no other repositories
> nor any recent information on alternatives.
> 
> I am trying to develop a cross-platform GUI for an existing program written
> in Python.  My machines run 10.2 and 9.1.  It's a shame that this program
> requires Python 2.3 which has no Tkinter support on OS 9 or I would just use
> MacPython-OS9 2.2.  I would also just upgrade my 10.2 machine to a newer
> Python but all of the 2.4 and 2.5 binary distributions appear to require
> 10.3.  Is this correct?
> 
> So I am wondering what my options are now for cross-platform GUI development
> with Python on 10.2?  Can I get Tkinter installed somehow?  Would wxPython
> work better?  I am hoping for a solution that will be reliable and easily
> installed on Windows, Linux, and OS X.
> 
> Thanks very much for your thoughts.
> 
> Anthony Kozar
> mailing-lists-1001 AT anthonykozar DOT net
> http://anthonykozar.net/

The Package Manager infrastructure is obsolete--no one has updated that 
stuff for years. In fact, the version of Python that runs on 10.2 is 
also obsolete, and not just because it's 2.3.x--Python on the Mac went 
through some pretty significant architectural changes to support 
universal binaries, i.e. PPC and Macintel. For instance, the WASTE text 
library (the basis for the old Python IDE, for instance) is no longer 
supported. As a side note, I'm not aware of any recent version of Tk 
which supports 10.2 (you need Tcl/Tk to install Tkinter); ditto for 
wxPython.

My strong suggestion is to upgrade your system. I think 10.3.9 is the 
absolute minimum that is supported by universal versions of Python. 
You'd be in far better shape with 10.4, or 10.5.

-- 
Kevin Walzer
Code by Kevin
http://www.codebykevin.com