[Tutor] help with getting python to run from command prompt onWindows XP

[Brian van den Broek]

Brian van den Broek said unto the world at 15/01/09 11:27 AM:
> Alan Gauld said unto the world at 14/01/09 07:34 PM:
>>
>> "Brian van den Broek" <vanden at gmail.com> wrote

<snip my account of Windows using friend unable to invoke python at 
DOS prompt and replies including Alan's suggestion to get a text file 
dump of environment variables.>

> With the full path, python loads as expected. I'm awaiting the results of
> SET > env.txt
> as per Alan's suggestion above.

Never fails. Shortly after posting, I got an answer back from the 
friend I'm trying to help.

The (recognized by me as) relevant bits of output are:
Path=C:\WINDOWS\system32;C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\System32\Wbem;C:\Program 
Files\texlive\2008\bin\win32;C:\Python26
PATHEXT=.COM;.EXE;.BAT;.CMD;.VBS;.VBE;.JS;.JSE;.WSF;.WSH

There is no subsequent Path line that might be stomping on the line 
shown above.

I'm surprised that it is `Path' rather than `PATH'. Does that matter? 
I'm pretty sure that my friend didn't change that, as once he got into 
the `Edit System Variable' dialog, he felt uncertain and sent me a 
screen shot before he effected any modifications; the screen shot 
shows `Path'.

Last, the texlive entry is from an installation of latex that I guided 
him through right before we installed python. Invoking latex from the 
command line works as expected, so I conclude that the Path is not broken.

> If that doesn't clear it up for me, I shall report back.

Didn't and did.

Thanks and best,

Brian