[Tutor] Windows, Python and me

[alan.gauld@bt.com]

Tim Peters wrote:
> [alan.gauld@bt.com]
> > You should - provided you've done a reboot. I'm sure the
> > official pythomn installeer sets both the path and the
> > file association.
> 
> The PythonLabs installer never touches autoexec.bat.  

Ah. I must have done that manually at some point at because 
I always install to the same directory it has always worked...

[Aside: I never understood why MS didn't have a registry 
key that got loaded from Autoexec instead of relying on 
PATH... Or maybe they do, in which case what is it? 
And shouldn't new apps set that instead? ]

> We do set file associations, although I don't find them 
> useful for Python on Win9x.  

Really? I couldn't live without them. Its how I launch nearly 
all my python scripts - just double click the file oir type 
the name in Start|Run...

> If they change autoexec.bat, yes.  File extensions are stored in the
> registry, though, and changes take effect immediately 

Yes, sorry my explanation wasn't unambiguous enough.

> The last has only to do with setting file associations; 

Again yes because file associations take the fiull path 
of the executable.

> The former (Start|Run) has to do with a different registry 
> setting, neither with PATH nor with file associations.  

Now that I didn't know! Which one?
Is that set by the installer coz I must admit thats how I 
usually get a Python prompt rather than start a DOS box 
per se. Maybe thats why I assumed PATH was being set?

> The latter ("foo.py") has solely to do with file associations.  

Thats the one I normally use.

> Windows is very consistent <wink>.

Consistently frustrating that's for sure :-)
As a recent email dialog with Michael showed I am now in the 
pitiable state of being sufficiently immersed in Windoze 
to have forgotten much of my Unix knowledge but not enough 
into Windows to be an expert there - yet?

Alan g