| <HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Macintosh Python crash course</TITLE></HEAD> |
| <BODY> |
| <H1><IMG SRC="html.icons/python.gif">Macintosh Python crash course</H1> |
| <HR> |
| |
| This set of documents provides an introduction to various aspects of |
| Python programming on the Mac. It is assumed that the reader is |
| already familiar with Python and, to some extent, with MacOS Toolbox |
| programming. Other readers may find something interesting here too, |
| your mileage may vary. <p> |
| |
| There is a companion document <a href="using.html">Using Python on the Mac</a> |
| which you should read before starting here: it explains the basics of using |
| python on the Macintosh. <p> |
| |
| Another set of Macintosh-savvy examples, more aimed at beginners, is |
| maintained by Joseph Strout, at Python Tidbits in <A |
| HREF="http://www.strout.net/python/"> |
| http://www.strout.net/python/</A>. |
| <P> |
| |
| The <a href="http://www.python.org/doc/lib/Top.html">Python Library |
| Reference</a> contains a section on <a |
| href="http://www.python.org/doc/lib/Macintosh-Specific-Services.html">Macintosh-specific |
| modules</a> that you should also read. Documentation is also available |
| in PostScript and other forms, see the <a |
| href="http://www.python.org/doc/">documentation</a> section on the |
| webserver. <p> |
| |
| The W widget set by Just van Rossum, which is used by the Python IDE, does not |
| have complete documentation as of this writing, but Corran Webster has |
| documented most of it on his |
| <A HREF="http://www.nevada.edu/~cwebster/Python/">Python Page</A>. <p> |
| |
| There are also some documentation links, as well as other MacPython-related |
| pages, in the |
| <A HREF="http://dmoz.org/Computers/Systems/Macintosh/Development/Scripting/Python/"> |
| Open Directory</A>. |
| |
| |
| <H2>Table of contents</H2> |
| |
| <blockquote><B>Note:</B> |
| Some of these documents were actually written a long time ago and have seen |
| little maintainance, so use with care. </blockquote> |
| <UL> |
| <LI> |
| <A HREF="example0.html">Using python to create Macintosh applications, |
| part zero</A> whets your appetite by showing you how to ask the user |
| for a filename, and how to display a message. It explains about end-of-line |
| confusion while doing so. |
| |
| <LI> |
| <A HREF="example1.html">Using python to create Macintosh applications, |
| part one</A> explains how to create a simple modal-dialog application |
| in Python. It also takes a glance at using the toolbox modules Res and |
| Dlg, and EasyDialogs for simple question-dialogs. |
| |
| <LI> |
| <A HREF="example2.html">Using python to create Macintosh applications, |
| part two</A> turns the previous example program into a more complete |
| mac application, using a modeless dialog, menus, etc. It also explains |
| how to create applets, standalone applications written in Python. |
| |
| <LI> |
| <A HREF="freezing.html">Freezing Python programs</A> extends on this concept, |
| and shows you how to create applications that can be used on machines without |
| a full Python installed. This one is probably best skipped on first contact |
| with MacPython. |
| |
| <LI> |
| <A HREF="textedit.html">Using FrameWork and TextEdit</A> shows you |
| how to use <code>FrameWork</code> application framework and the |
| <code>TextEdit</code> toolbox to build a text editor. |
| |
| <LI> |
| <A HREF="waste.html">Using WASTE</A> expands on this editor by using |
| WASTE, an extended TextEdit replacement. |
| |
| <LI> |
| <A HREF="plugins.html">Creating a C extension module on the Macintosh</A> |
| is meant for the hardcore programmer, and shows how to create an |
| extension module in C. It also handles using Modulator to create the |
| boilerplate for your module, and creating dynamically-loadable modules |
| on PowerPC Macs. It assumes you use CodeWarrior for you development. |
| |
| <LI> |
| <A HREF="mpwextensions.html">Creating C extension modules using MPW</A> |
| is a companion document, written by Corran Webster, which explains how you |
| can develop Python extensions using Apple's free MPW compiler environment. |
| |
| <LI> |
| <A HREF="applescript.html">Using Open Scripting Architecture from Python</A> explains |
| how to create a Python module interfacing to a scriptable application, |
| and how to use that module in your python program. |
| |
| <LI> |
| <A HREF="cgi.html">Using python to create CGI scripts</A> is a preliminary |
| introduction to writing CGI scripts in Python and to writing scriptable applications |
| in Python. |
| |
| <LI> |
| <A HREF="building.html">Building Mac Python from source</A> explains |
| how to build a PPC or 68K interpreter from a source distribution. |
| |
| <LI> |
| <A HREF="embed.html">Embedding Python on the Mac</A> is a minimal example of |
| how to embed Python in other Mac applications. |
| |
| </UL> |
| |
| The Python distribution contains a few more examples, all unexplained: |
| <UL> |
| <LI> |
| <I>PICTbrowse</I> is an application that locates PICT |
| resources and displays them, it demonstrates some quickdraw and the |
| resource and list managers. In the same folder you will find the very |
| similar scripts ICONbrowse and cicnbrowse. oldPICTbrowse is the same program |
| but form the pre-Appearance era, it uses a dialog with a user item and |
| creates and manages its own List object. |
| |
| <LI> |
| <I>Imgbrowse</I> displays image files in |
| many different formats (gif, tiff, pbm, etc). It shows how to use the |
| img modules on the mac. |
| |
| <LI> |
| <I>Quicktime</I> has the standard <code>MovieInWindow</code> and |
| <code>VerySimplePlayer</code> examples, re-coded in Python. |
| |
| <LI> |
| <I>Resources</I>, <I>Sound</I> and <I>Speech</I> have some examples |
| on using the respective managers. In the <i>Mac:Lib</i> folder you |
| will also find modules that do useful things with the Communications |
| Toolbox, the Finder interface, etc. |
| |
| <LI> |
| <I>Printing</I> has an example on using the Printing module to, you guessed |
| it, print from Python. The code is somewhat self-documenting. Donated |
| by Just van Rossum, who also donated the Printing module itself. |
| </UL> |
| |
| At some point in the (possibly distant) future, I will add chapters on |
| how to use bgen to create modules completely automatic and how to make |
| your Python program scriptable, but that will have to wait. <p> |
| |
| <HR> |
| |
| Please let me know if you miss critical information in this |
| document. I am quite sure that I will never find the time to turn it |
| into a complete MacPython programmers guide (which would probably be a |
| 400-page book instead of 10 lousy html-files), but it should contain |
| at least the information that is neither in the standard Python |
| documentation nor in Inside Mac or other Mac programmers |
| documentation. <p> |
| |
| <HR> |
| <A HREF="http://www.cwi.nl/~jack">Jack Jansen</A>, |
| <A HREF="mailto:jack@cwi.nl">jack@cwi.nl</A>, 22-Apr-00. |
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