[Tutor] Re: IDLE question

[Andrei]

Dick Moores <rdm <at> rcblue.com> writes:

> >If you want a >>> prompt with the color coding and other bells of IDLE
> >try the pyShell that comes with wxPython. It is now my preferred
> >Python interactive prompt...
> 
> To use the pyShell that comes with wxPython, I'd have to download and 
> install and use all of wxPython, I suppose. I just read about wxPython on 

PyCrust is a really nice Python shell - my favorite in fact - worth downloading
wxPython IMO.

> it's website, and I'm interested in what is said there about having the 
> best GUI toolkit. 

Everyone claims their product is better than the competition :). (I happen to
agree on wxPython, but it's very much a matter of taste.)

> But if I switch to wxPython, except for not using 
> tkinter, will I be able to rely on the Python documentation, tutorials 
> and books for learning Python? I'm guessing I can, but can you confirm this?

Yes. wxPython is just a set of libraries and tools like all the other libraries
and tools you get with Python. You use whatever you need and ignore the rest.

> Also, on the wxPython main page it says, "Welcome to the home of 
> wxPython, a blending of the wxWidgets C++ class library with the Python 
> programming language." Does this mean I'd have to know C++ to use the 
> wxWidgets? Or is it the case that I would no more need to know C++ for 
> wxPython than I need to know C to use Python.

Nope. I don't know C(++), and I can use it just fine. The docs are C++ oriented
(with some Python annotations here and there), but although that's not an ideal
situation, they're quite easy to follow after the inital shock :) - plus that it
comes with a great demo with a lot of educational value. But anyway, you don't
need to read the docs in order to use PyCrust/PyShell.

Yours,

Andrei