| Guido van Rossum | f501b4e | 1996-10-25 14:32:48 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 1 | This is Python release 1.4 (final) | 
|  | 2 | ================================== | 
| Guido van Rossum | faf681a | 1996-06-20 14:32:08 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 3 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | f501b4e | 1996-10-25 14:32:48 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 4 | I appreciate everybody's patience...  This is the official, final | 
|  | 5 | release of Python 1.4.  You can throw away your copies of 1.3 and the | 
|  | 6 | 1.4 betas now! | 
| Guido van Rossum | 627b2d7 | 1993-12-24 10:39:16 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 7 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 627b2d7 | 1993-12-24 10:39:16 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 8 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 8d7d4ed | 1996-07-30 21:41:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 9 | What's new in this release? | 
|  | 10 | --------------------------- | 
| Guido van Rossum | 3ff96dd | 1996-07-30 18:05:04 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 11 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | f501b4e | 1996-10-25 14:32:48 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 12 | An exhaustive list of (nearly) everything that changed since the | 
|  | 13 | release of Python 1.3, over a year ago, can be found in the file | 
|  | 14 | Misc/NEWS.  (A history of all changes before that time is kept in | 
|  | 15 | Misc/HISTORY.)  An overview of the most important user-visible changes | 
|  | 16 | is appended as a new chapter to the Tutorial (Doc/tut.tex).  Perhaps | 
|  | 17 | the most visible changes are the new power operator, complex numbers, | 
|  | 18 | new slicing and indexing syntax, and class-private names of the form | 
|  | 19 | __spam (an experimental feature). | 
| Guido van Rossum | 3ff96dd | 1996-07-30 18:05:04 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 20 |  | 
|  | 21 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 22 | What is Python anyway? | 
|  | 23 | ---------------------- | 
|  | 24 |  | 
|  | 25 | Python is an interpreted object-oriented programming language, and is | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 26 | often compared to Tcl, Perl, Scheme or Java.  For a quick summary of | 
|  | 27 | what Python can mean for a UNIX/C programmer, read Misc/BLURB.LUTZ. | 
| Guido van Rossum | dfcf35d | 1996-08-26 17:52:09 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 28 | If you have web access, point your browser to http://www.python.org. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 29 |  | 
|  | 30 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | f501b4e | 1996-10-25 14:32:48 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 31 | How do I learn Python? | 
|  | 32 | ---------------------- | 
|  | 33 |  | 
|  | 34 | The official tutorial is still a good place to start (in the Doc | 
|  | 35 | directory as tut.tex; and http://www.python.org/doc/tut/tut.html). | 
|  | 36 | Aaron Watters wrote a second tutorial, that may be more accessible for | 
|  | 37 | some: http://www.wcmh.com/uworld/archives/95/tutorial/005.html. | 
|  | 38 |  | 
|  | 39 | There are now also two books on Python.  While these are still based | 
|  | 40 | on Python 1.3 or 1.4beta2, the language is so stable now that you'd be | 
|  | 41 | hard pressed to find places where the books are out of date.  The | 
|  | 42 | books, both first published in October 1996 and both including a | 
|  | 43 | CD-ROM, form excellent companions to each other: | 
|  | 44 |  | 
|  | 45 | Internet Programming with Python | 
|  | 46 | by Aaron Watters, Guido van Rossum, and James Ahlstrom | 
|  | 47 | MIS Press/Henry Holt publishers | 
|  | 48 | ISBN: 1-55851-484-8 | 
|  | 49 |  | 
|  | 50 | Programming Python | 
|  | 51 | by Mark Lutz | 
|  | 52 | O'Reilly & Associates | 
|  | 53 | ISBN: 1-56592-197-6 | 
|  | 54 |  | 
|  | 55 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 56 | If you don't read instructions | 
|  | 57 | ------------------------------ | 
|  | 58 |  | 
|  | 59 | Congratulations on getting this far. :-) | 
|  | 60 |  | 
|  | 61 | To start building right away (on UNIX): type "./configure" in the | 
|  | 62 | current directory and when it finishes, type "make".  The section | 
|  | 63 | Build Instructions below is still recommended reading. :-) | 
|  | 64 |  | 
|  | 65 |  | 
|  | 66 | Copyright issues | 
|  | 67 | ---------------- | 
|  | 68 |  | 
|  | 69 | Python is COPYRIGHTED but free to use for all.  See the full copyright | 
|  | 70 | notice at the end of this file. | 
|  | 71 |  | 
|  | 72 | The Python distribution is *not* affected by the GNU Public Licence | 
|  | 73 | (GPL).  There are interfaces to some GNU code but these are entirely | 
|  | 74 | optional and no GNU code is distributed with Python.  For all these | 
|  | 75 | packages, GPL-free public domain versions also exist. | 
|  | 76 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 627b2d7 | 1993-12-24 10:39:16 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 77 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 78 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | ff84049 | 1995-09-18 22:02:47 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 79 | A modest plug | 
|  | 80 | ============= | 
|  | 81 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | f501b4e | 1996-10-25 14:32:48 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 82 | ********************************************************************* | 
|  | 83 | * Without your help, I won't be able to continue to support Python! * | 
|  | 84 | ********************************************************************* | 
| Guido van Rossum | ff84049 | 1995-09-18 22:02:47 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 85 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | f501b4e | 1996-10-25 14:32:48 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 86 | If you use Python, please consider joining the Python Software | 
|  | 87 | Activity (PSA).  See http://www.python.org/psa/. | 
|  | 88 |  | 
|  | 89 | Organizations that make heavy use of Python are especially encouraged | 
|  | 90 | to become corporate members! | 
| Guido van Rossum | 627b2d7 | 1993-12-24 10:39:16 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 91 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 92 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 93 | Build instructions | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 94 | ================== | 
| Guido van Rossum | 627b2d7 | 1993-12-24 10:39:16 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 95 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 96 | Before you can build Python, you must first configure it. | 
|  | 97 | Fortunately, the configuration and build process has been streamlined | 
|  | 98 | for most Unix installations, so all you have to do is type a few | 
|  | 99 | commands, optionally edit one file, and sit back.  There are some | 
|  | 100 | platforms where things are not quite as smooth; see the platform | 
|  | 101 | specific notes below.  If you want to build for multiple platforms | 
|  | 102 | sharing the same source tree, see the section on VPATH below. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 627b2d7 | 1993-12-24 10:39:16 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 103 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 104 | You start by running the script "./configure", which figures out your | 
|  | 105 | system configuration and creates several Makefiles.  (It takes a | 
|  | 106 | minute or two -- please be patient!)  When it's done, you are ready to | 
|  | 107 | run make.  You may want to pass options to the configure script -- see | 
|  | 108 | the section below on configuration options and variables. | 
|  | 109 |  | 
|  | 110 | To build Python, you normally type "make" in the toplevel directory. | 
|  | 111 | This will recursively run make in each of the subdirectories Parser, | 
|  | 112 | Objects, Python and Modules, creating a library file in each one.  The | 
|  | 113 | executable of the interpreter is built in the Modules subdirectory and | 
|  | 114 | moved up here when it is built.  If you want or need to, you can also | 
|  | 115 | chdir into each subdirectory in turn and run make there manually (do | 
|  | 116 | the Modules subdirectory last!). | 
|  | 117 |  | 
|  | 118 | Once you have built an interpreter, see the subsections below on | 
|  | 119 | testing, configuring additional modules, and installation.  If you run | 
|  | 120 | in trouble, see the next section. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 627b2d7 | 1993-12-24 10:39:16 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 121 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 0a516c9 | 1994-09-12 10:58:40 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 122 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 123 | Troubleshooting | 
|  | 124 | --------------- | 
| Guido van Rossum | 627b2d7 | 1993-12-24 10:39:16 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 125 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 126 | See also the platform specific notes in the next section. | 
|  | 127 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | faf681a | 1996-06-20 14:32:08 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 128 | If recursive makes fail, try invoking make as "make MAKE=make". | 
|  | 129 |  | 
|  | 130 | If you run into other trouble, see section 3 of the FAQ (file | 
|  | 131 | Misc/FAQ) for hints on what can go wrong, and how to fix it. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 132 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 133 | If you rerun the configure script with different options, remove all | 
|  | 134 | object files by running "make clean" before rebuilding.  Believe it or | 
|  | 135 | not, "make clean" sometimes helps to clean up other inexplicable | 
|  | 136 | problems as well.  Try it before sending in a bug report! | 
|  | 137 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | d0fe845 | 1996-08-26 03:02:37 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 138 | If the configure script fails or doesn't seem to find things that | 
|  | 139 | should be there, inspect the config.log file. | 
|  | 140 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 141 |  | 
|  | 142 | Platform specific notes | 
|  | 143 | ----------------------- | 
|  | 144 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 0447a32 | 1995-10-08 01:22:33 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 145 | (Some of these may no longer apply.  If you find you can build Python | 
|  | 146 | on these platforms without the special directions mentioned here, let | 
|  | 147 | me know so I can remove them!) | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 148 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 4462e93 | 1997-01-22 21:00:32 +0000 | [diff] [blame^] | 149 | Solaris: When using Sun's C compiler with threads, at least on Solaris | 
|  | 150 | 2.5.1, you need to add the "-mt" compiler option (the simplest | 
|  | 151 | way is probably to specify the compiler with this option as | 
|  | 152 | the "CC" environment variable when running the configure | 
|  | 153 | script). | 
|  | 154 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 155 | Linux:  On Linux version 1.x, once you've built Python, use it to run | 
|  | 156 | the regen script in the Lib/linux1 directory.  Apparently | 
|  | 157 | the files as distributed don't match the system headers on | 
|  | 158 | some Linux versions.  (The "h2py" command refers to | 
|  | 159 | Tools/scripts/h2py.py.)  The modules distributed for Linux 2.x | 
| Guido van Rossum | d0fe845 | 1996-08-26 03:02:37 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 160 | should be okay.  Shared library support now works by default | 
| Guido van Rossum | 4462e93 | 1997-01-22 21:00:32 +0000 | [diff] [blame^] | 161 | on ELF-based x86 Linux systems.  (Note: when you change the | 
|  | 162 | status of a module from static to shared, you must remove its | 
|  | 163 | .o file or do a "make clean".) | 
|  | 164 |  | 
|  | 165 | DEC Alpha OFS/1: When enabling threads, use --with-dec-threads, not | 
|  | 166 | --with-thread. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 8eca2c2 | 1996-02-14 18:37:46 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 167 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | d0fe845 | 1996-08-26 03:02:37 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 168 | AIX:	A complete overhaul of the shared library support is now in | 
|  | 169 | place.  To enable it, uncomment the LINKCC line in the Setup | 
|  | 170 | file.  See Misc/AIX-NOTES for some notes on how it's done. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 171 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | d0fe845 | 1996-08-26 03:02:37 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 172 | WARNING!  In some versions of AIX 3.x, you get errors about | 
| Guido van Rossum | a3b4b61 | 1996-07-21 02:48:16 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 173 | Invalid Indent when running the Python test set.  This appears | 
|  | 174 | to be a bug in the AIX compiler.  Rebuild Parser/tokenizer.c | 
|  | 175 | using OPT="" or OPT=-g, or use gcc. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 176 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | d0fe845 | 1996-08-26 03:02:37 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 177 | HP-UX:	Shared library support now works by default (at least on HP-UX | 
|  | 178 | 9.x).  One other problem remains: the HP ANSI C compiler (cc | 
|  | 179 | -Aa) is too pedantic to use, but in K&R mode, it barfs on a | 
|  | 180 | few files (complexobject.c, getargs.c and operator.c).  Until | 
|  | 181 | this is fixed, the following seems to work: | 
|  | 182 |  | 
|  | 183 | make -k		# this compiles all but a few files | 
|  | 184 | make OPT=-Aa	# compile the remaining files | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 185 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 186 | Minix:  When using ack, use "CC=cc AR=aal RANLIB=: ./configure"! | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 187 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 188 | SCO:    1) Everything works much better if you add -U__STDC__ to the | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 189 | defs.  This is because all the SCO header files are broken. | 
|  | 190 | Anything that isn't mentioned in the C standard it's | 
|  | 191 | conditionally excluded when __STDC__ is defined. | 
|  | 192 |  | 
|  | 193 | 2) Due to the U.S. export restrictions, SCO broke the crypt | 
|  | 194 | stuff out into a separate library, libcrypt_i.a so the LIBS | 
|  | 195 | needed be set to: | 
|  | 196 |  | 
|  | 197 | LIBS=' -lsocket -lcrypt_i' | 
|  | 198 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | a3b4b61 | 1996-07-21 02:48:16 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 199 | 3) According to at least one report, the above apply only to | 
|  | 200 | SCO 3 -- Python builds out of the box on SCO 5. | 
|  | 201 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 4462e93 | 1997-01-22 21:00:32 +0000 | [diff] [blame^] | 202 | SunOS:	On SunOS 4.1.x, when using the SunPro C compiler, you may want | 
|  | 203 | to use the '-Xa' option instead of '-Xc', to enable some | 
|  | 204 | needed non-ANSI Sunisms. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 205 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | cc55c2d | 1996-10-21 15:14:27 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 206 | NeXT:   To build fat binaries, use the --with-next-archs switch | 
|  | 207 | described below. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 208 |  | 
|  | 209 |  | 
|  | 210 | Configuring additional built-in modules | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 211 | --------------------------------------- | 
| Guido van Rossum | 19e0c26 | 1995-01-17 16:36:34 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 212 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 213 | You can configure the interpreter to contain fewer or more built-in | 
|  | 214 | modules by editing the file Modules/Setup.  This file is initially | 
|  | 215 | copied (when the toplevel Makefile makes Modules/Makefile for the | 
|  | 216 | first time) from Setup.in; if it does not exist yet, make a copy | 
|  | 217 | yourself.  Never edit Setup.in -- always edit Setup.  Read the | 
|  | 218 | comments in the file for information on what kind of edits you can | 
|  | 219 | make.  When you have edited Setup, Makefile and config.c in Modules | 
|  | 220 | will automatically be rebuilt the next time you run make in the | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 221 | toplevel directory.  (When working inside the Modules directory, use | 
|  | 222 | "make Makefile; make".) | 
| Guido van Rossum | 627b2d7 | 1993-12-24 10:39:16 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 223 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 224 | The default collection of modules should build on any Unix system, but | 
|  | 225 | many optional modules should work on all modern Unices (e.g. try dbm, | 
| Guido van Rossum | d0fe845 | 1996-08-26 03:02:37 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 226 | nis, termios, timing, syslog, curses, new, soundex, parser).  Often | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 227 | the quickest way to determine whether a particular module works or not | 
|  | 228 | is to see if it will build: enable it in Setup, then if you get | 
|  | 229 | compilation or link errors, disable it -- you're missing support. | 
|  | 230 |  | 
|  | 231 | On SGI IRIX, there are modules that interface to many SGI specific | 
|  | 232 | system libraries, e.g. the GL library and the audio hardware. | 
|  | 233 |  | 
|  | 234 | For SunOS and Solaris, enable module "sunaudiodev" to support the | 
|  | 235 | audio device. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 236 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 4462e93 | 1997-01-22 21:00:32 +0000 | [diff] [blame^] | 237 | In addition to the file Setup, you can also edit the file Setup.local. | 
|  | 238 | (the makesetup script processes both).  You may find it more | 
|  | 239 | convenient to edit Setup.local and leave Setup alone.  Then, when | 
|  | 240 | installing a new Python version, you can copy your old Setup.local | 
|  | 241 | file. | 
|  | 242 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 243 |  | 
|  | 244 | Setting the optimization/debugging options | 
|  | 245 | ------------------------------------------ | 
|  | 246 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 247 | If you want or need to change the optimization/debugging options for | 
|  | 248 | the C compiler, assign to the OPT variable on the toplevel make | 
|  | 249 | command; e.g. "make OPT=-g" will build a debugging version of Python | 
|  | 250 | on most platforms.  The default is OPT=-O; a value for OPT in the | 
|  | 251 | environment when the configure script is run overrides this default | 
|  | 252 | (likewise for CC; and the initial value for LIBS is used as the base | 
|  | 253 | set of libraries to link with). | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 254 |  | 
|  | 255 |  | 
|  | 256 | Testing | 
|  | 257 | ------- | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 258 |  | 
|  | 259 | To test the interpreter that you have just built, type "make test". | 
|  | 260 | This runs the test set silently, twice (once with no compiled files, | 
|  | 261 | once with the compiled files left by the previous test run).  Each | 
|  | 262 | test run should print "All tests OK." and nothing more.  (The test set | 
|  | 263 | does not test the built-in modules, but will find most other problems | 
|  | 264 | with the interpreter.) | 
|  | 265 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 266 | IMPORTANT: If the tests fail and you decide to mail a bug report, | 
|  | 267 | *don't* include the output of "make test".  It is useless.  Run the | 
|  | 268 | following command instead: | 
|  | 269 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | dfcf35d | 1996-08-26 17:52:09 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 270 | PYTHONPATH=../Lib:../Lib/test:./Modules ./python -c 'import testall' | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 271 |  | 
|  | 272 | (substituting the top of the source tree for .. if you built in a | 
|  | 273 | different directory).  This gives the output of the tests and shows | 
|  | 274 | which test failed. | 
|  | 275 |  | 
|  | 276 |  | 
|  | 277 | Installing | 
|  | 278 | ---------- | 
|  | 279 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 280 | Installing Python was never this easy! | 
| Guido van Rossum | 8d7d4ed | 1996-07-30 21:41:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 281 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 282 | To install the Python binary, library modules, shared library modules | 
|  | 283 | (see below), include files, configuration files, and the manual page, | 
|  | 284 | just type "make install".  This will install all platform-independent | 
|  | 285 | files in subdirectories the directory given with the --prefix option | 
|  | 286 | to configure or the 'prefix' Make variable (default /usr/local), and | 
|  | 287 | all binary and other platform-specific files in subdirectories if the | 
|  | 288 | directory given by --exec-prefix or the 'exec_prefix' Make variable | 
|  | 289 | (defaults to the --prefix directory).  All subdirectories created will | 
|  | 290 | have Python's version number in their name, e.g. the library modules | 
|  | 291 | are installed in "/usr/local/lib/python1.4/" by default.  The Python | 
|  | 292 | binary is installed as "python1.4" and a hard link named "python" is | 
|  | 293 | created.  The only file not installed with a version number in its | 
|  | 294 | name is the manual page, installed as "/usr/local/man/man1/python.1" | 
|  | 295 | by default. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 296 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 297 | If you have a previous installation of a pre-1.4 Python that you don't | 
|  | 298 | want to replace yet, use "make altinstall".  This installs the same | 
|  | 299 | set of files as "make install" except it doesn't create the hard link | 
|  | 300 | to "python1.4" named "python" and it doesn't install the manual page | 
|  | 301 | at all. | 
|  | 302 |  | 
|  | 303 | The only thing you may have to install manually is the Python mode for | 
|  | 304 | Emacs.  (But then again, more recent versions of Emacs may already | 
|  | 305 | have it!)  This is the file Misc/python-mode.el; follow the | 
|  | 306 | instructions that came with Emacs for installation of site specific | 
|  | 307 | files. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 308 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 309 |  | 
|  | 310 | Configuration options and variables | 
|  | 311 | ----------------------------------- | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 312 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 313 | Some special cases are handled by passing options to the configure | 
|  | 314 | script. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 315 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 316 | WARNING: if you rerun the configure script with different options, you | 
|  | 317 | must run "make clean" before rebuilding.  Exceptions to this rule: | 
|  | 318 | after changing --prefix or --exec-prefix, all you need to do is remove | 
|  | 319 | Modules/getpath.o; after changing --with-readline, just remove | 
| Guido van Rossum | 4462e93 | 1997-01-22 21:00:32 +0000 | [diff] [blame^] | 320 | Parser/myreadline.o (but if it doesn't seem to work, always try "make | 
|  | 321 | clean" before giving up or complaining!). | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 322 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 323 | --with(out)-gcc: The configure script uses gcc (the GNU C compiler) if | 
|  | 324 | it finds it.  If you don't want this, or if this compiler is | 
|  | 325 | installed but broken on your platform, pass the option | 
|  | 326 | --without-gcc.  You can also pass "CC=cc" (or whatever the | 
|  | 327 | name of the proper C compiler is) in the environment, but the | 
|  | 328 | advantage of using --without-gcc is that this option is | 
|  | 329 | remembered by the config.status script for its --recheck | 
|  | 330 | option. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 76be6ed | 1995-01-02 18:33:54 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 331 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 332 | --prefix, --exec-prefix: If you want to install the binaries and the | 
|  | 333 | Python library somewhere else than in /usr/local/{bin,lib}, | 
|  | 334 | you can pass the option --prefix=DIRECTORY; the interpreter | 
|  | 335 | binary will be installed as DIRECTORY/bin/python and the | 
|  | 336 | library files as DIRECTORY/lib/python/*.  If you pass | 
|  | 337 | --exec-prefix=DIRECTORY (as well) this overrides the | 
|  | 338 | installation prefix for architecture-dependent files (like the | 
|  | 339 | interpreter binary).  Note that --prefix=DIRECTORY also | 
|  | 340 | affects the default module search path (sys.path), when | 
|  | 341 | Modules/config.c is compiled.  Passing make the option | 
|  | 342 | prefix=DIRECTORY (and/or exec_prefix=DIRECTORY) overrides the | 
|  | 343 | prefix set at configuration time; this may be more convenient | 
|  | 344 | than re-running the configure script if you change your mind | 
|  | 345 | about the install prefix... | 
| Guido van Rossum | 76be6ed | 1995-01-02 18:33:54 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 346 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 347 | --with-readline: You can use the GNU readline library to improve the | 
| Guido van Rossum | faf681a | 1996-06-20 14:32:08 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 348 | interactive user interface.  This gives you line editing and | 
|  | 349 | command history when calling Python interactively.  Unless GNU | 
|  | 350 | readline is a standard part of your system (it is on Linux), | 
|  | 351 | you need to configure build the GNU readline library before | 
|  | 352 | running the configure script.  Its sources are not distributed | 
|  | 353 | with Python; you can ftp them from any GNU mirror site, or | 
|  | 354 | from its home site: | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 355 | ftp://slc2.ins.cwru.edu/pub/dist/readline-2.0.tar.gz (or | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 356 | a higher version number -- using version 1.x is not | 
|  | 357 | recommended). | 
| Guido van Rossum | 76be6ed | 1995-01-02 18:33:54 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 358 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 359 | A GPL-free version was posted to comp.sources.misc in volume | 
|  | 360 | 31 and is widely available from FTP archive sites, e.g. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 361 | ftp://gatekeeper.dec.com/. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 362 |  | 
|  | 363 | Pass the Python configure script the option | 
|  | 364 | --with-readline=DIRECTORY where DIRECTORY is the absolute | 
|  | 365 | pathname of the directory where you've built the readline | 
| Guido van Rossum | faf681a | 1996-06-20 14:32:08 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 366 | library.  If GNU readline is a standard part of your system, | 
|  | 367 | don't pass '=DIRECTORY'.  Some hints on building and using the | 
|  | 368 | readline library are in the FAQ (file Misc/FAQ). | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 369 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | faf681a | 1996-06-20 14:32:08 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 370 | --with-thread: On most Unix systems, you can now use multiple threads. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 4462e93 | 1997-01-22 21:00:32 +0000 | [diff] [blame^] | 371 | To enable this, pass --with-thread.  (--with-threads is an | 
|  | 372 | alias.)  If the library required for threads lives in a | 
|  | 373 | peculiar place, you can use --with-thread=DIRECTORY.  In the | 
|  | 374 | Modules/Setup file, enable the thread module.  (Threads aren't | 
|  | 375 | enabled automatically because there are run-time penalties | 
|  | 376 | when support for them is compiled in even if you don't use | 
|  | 377 | them.)  IMPORTANT: run "make clean" after changing (either | 
|  | 378 | enabling or disabling) this option!  Note: for DEC Alpha OSF/1, | 
|  | 379 | use --with-dec-threads instead. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 380 |  | 
|  | 381 | --with-sgi-dl: On SGI IRIX 4, dynamic loading of extension modules is | 
|  | 382 | supported by the "dl" library by Jack Jansen, which is | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 383 | ftp'able from ftp://ftp.cwi.nl/pub/dynload/dl-1.6.tar.Z. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 384 | This is enabled (after you've ftp'ed and compiled the dl | 
|  | 385 | library!) by passing --with-sgi-dl=DIRECTORY where DIRECTORY | 
|  | 386 | is the absolute pathname of the dl library.  (Don't bother on | 
|  | 387 | IRIX 5, it already has dynamic linking using SunOS style | 
|  | 388 | shared libraries.)  Support for this feature is deprecated. | 
|  | 389 |  | 
|  | 390 | --with-dl-dld: Dynamic loading of modules is rumoured to be supported | 
|  | 391 | on some other systems: VAX (Ultrix), Sun3 (SunOS 3.4), Sequent | 
|  | 392 | Symmetry (Dynix), and Atari ST.  This is done using a | 
|  | 393 | combination of the GNU dynamic loading package | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 394 | (ftp://ftp.cwi.nl/pub/dynload/dl-dld-1.1.tar.Z) and an | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 395 | emulation of the SGI dl library mentioned above (the emulation | 
|  | 396 | can be found at | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 397 | ftp://ftp.cwi.nl/pub/dynload/dld-3.2.3.tar.Z).  To | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 398 | enable this, ftp and compile both libraries, then call the | 
|  | 399 | configure passing it the option | 
|  | 400 | --with-dl-dld=DL_DIRECTORY,DLD_DIRECTORY where DL_DIRECTORY is | 
|  | 401 | the absolute pathname of the dl emulation library and | 
|  | 402 | DLD_DIRECTORY is the absolute pathname of the GNU dld library. | 
|  | 403 | (Don't bother on SunOS 4 or 5, they already have dynamic | 
|  | 404 | linking using shared libraries.)  Support for this feature is | 
|  | 405 | deprecated. | 
|  | 406 |  | 
|  | 407 | --with-libm, --with-libc: It is possible to specify alternative | 
|  | 408 | versions for the Math library (default -lm) and the C library | 
|  | 409 | (default the empty string) using the options | 
|  | 410 | --with-libm=STRING and --with-libc=STRING, respectively.  E.g. | 
|  | 411 | if your system requires that you pass -lc_s to the C compiler | 
|  | 412 | to use the shared C library, you can pass --with-libc=-lc_s. | 
|  | 413 | These libraries are passed after all other libraries, the C | 
|  | 414 | library last. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 3ff96dd | 1996-07-30 18:05:04 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 415 |  | 
|  | 416 | --with-next-archs='arch1 arch2': Under NEXTSTEP, this will build | 
|  | 417 | all compiled binaries with the architectures listed.  Includes | 
|  | 418 | correctly setting the target architecture specific resource | 
| Guido van Rossum | cc55c2d | 1996-10-21 15:14:27 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 419 | directory.  (This option is not supported on other platforms.) | 
| Guido van Rossum | 76be6ed | 1995-01-02 18:33:54 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 420 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | d02ba45 | 1996-07-31 17:36:01 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 421 | --with-libs='libs': Add 'libs' to the LIBS that the python | 
|  | 422 | linked against. | 
|  | 423 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 76be6ed | 1995-01-02 18:33:54 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 424 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 425 | Building for multiple architectures (using the VPATH feature) | 
|  | 426 | ------------------------------------------------------------- | 
|  | 427 |  | 
|  | 428 | If your file system is shared between multiple architectures, it | 
|  | 429 | usually is not necessary to make copies of the sources for each | 
|  | 430 | architecture you want to support.  If the make program supports the | 
|  | 431 | VPATH feature, you can create an empty build directory for each | 
|  | 432 | architecture, and in each directory run the configure script (on the | 
|  | 433 | appropriate machine with the appropriate options).  This creates the | 
|  | 434 | necessary subdirectories and the Makefiles therein.  The Makefiles | 
|  | 435 | contain a line VPATH=... which points to directory containing the | 
| Guido van Rossum | d0fe845 | 1996-08-26 03:02:37 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 436 | actual sources.  (On SGI systems, use "smake -J1" instead of "make" if | 
|  | 437 | you use VPATH -- don't try gnumake.) | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 438 |  | 
|  | 439 | For example, the following is all you need to build a minimal Python | 
|  | 440 | in /usr/tmp/python (assuming ~guido/src/python is the toplevel | 
|  | 441 | directory and you want to build in /usr/tmp/python): | 
|  | 442 |  | 
|  | 443 | $ mkdir /usr/tmp/python | 
|  | 444 | $ cd /usr/tmp/python | 
|  | 445 | $ ~guido/src/python/configure | 
|  | 446 | [...] | 
|  | 447 | $ make | 
|  | 448 | [...] | 
|  | 449 | $ | 
|  | 450 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 451 | Note that Modules/Makefile copies the original Setup file to the build | 
|  | 452 | directory if it finds no Setup file there.  This means that you can | 
|  | 453 | edit the Setup file for each architecture independently.  For this | 
|  | 454 | reason, subsequent changes to the original Setup file are not tracked | 
|  | 455 | automatically, as they might overwrite local changes.  To force a copy | 
|  | 456 | of a changed original Setup file, delete the target Setup file.  (The | 
|  | 457 | makesetup script supports multiple input files, so if you want to be | 
|  | 458 | fancy you can change the rules to create an empty Setup.local if it | 
|  | 459 | doesn't exist and run it with arguments $(srcdir)/Setup Setup.local; | 
|  | 460 | however this assumes that you only need to add modules.) | 
|  | 461 |  | 
|  | 462 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 463 | Building on non-UNIX systems | 
|  | 464 | ---------------------------- | 
|  | 465 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 466 | Building Python for a PC is now a piece of cake! | 
| Guido van Rossum | 8d7d4ed | 1996-07-30 21:41:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 467 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 468 | Enter the directory "PC" and read the file "readme.txt".  Most popular | 
|  | 469 | non-Unix PC platforms and compilers are supported (Unix ports to the | 
|  | 470 | PC such as Linux, FreeBSD or Solaris-x86 of course use the standard | 
|  | 471 | Unix build instructions). | 
|  | 472 |  | 
|  | 473 | For the Mac, a separate source distribution will be made available, | 
|  | 474 | for use with the CodeWarrior compiler.  If you are interested in Mac | 
|  | 475 | development, join the PythonMac Special Interest Group | 
|  | 476 | (http://www.python.org/sigs/pythonmac-sig/, or send email to | 
|  | 477 | pythonmac-sig-request@python.org). | 
|  | 478 |  | 
|  | 479 | Of course, there are also binary distributions available for these | 
|  | 480 | platforms -- see http://www.python.org/python/. | 
|  | 481 |  | 
|  | 482 | To port Python to a new non-UNIX system, you will have to fake the | 
|  | 483 | effect of running the configure script manually (for Mac and PC, this | 
|  | 484 | has already been done for you).  A good start is to copy the file | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 485 | config.h.in to config.h and edit the latter to reflect the actual | 
|  | 486 | configuration of your system.  Most symbols must simply be defined as | 
|  | 487 | 1 only if the corresponding feature is present and can be left alone | 
|  | 488 | otherwise; however RETSIGTYPE must always be defined, either as int or | 
|  | 489 | as void, and the *_t type symbols must be defined as some variant of | 
| Guido van Rossum | d0fe845 | 1996-08-26 03:02:37 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 490 | int if they need to be defined at all. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 491 |  | 
|  | 492 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 493 |  | 
|  | 494 | Miscellaneous issues | 
|  | 495 | ==================== | 
|  | 496 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 497 | Documentation | 
|  | 498 | ------------- | 
|  | 499 |  | 
|  | 500 | All documentation is provided in the subdirectory Doc in the form of | 
|  | 501 | LaTeX files.  In order of importance for new users: Tutorial (tut), | 
|  | 502 | Library Reference (lib), Language Reference (ref), Extending (ext). | 
|  | 503 | Especially the Library Reference is of immense value since much of | 
|  | 504 | Python's power (including the built-in data types and functions!) is | 
|  | 505 | described here. | 
|  | 506 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | dfcf35d | 1996-08-26 17:52:09 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 507 | To print the documentation from the LaTeX files, chdir into the Doc | 
|  | 508 | subdirectory, type "make" (let's hope you have LaTeX installed!), and | 
|  | 509 | send the four resulting PostScript files (tut.ps, lib.ps, ref.ps, and | 
|  | 510 | ext.ps) to the printer.  See the README file there.  If you don't have | 
|  | 511 | LaTeX, you can ftp the PostScript files from the ftp archives (see | 
|  | 512 | below). | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 513 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | dfcf35d | 1996-08-26 17:52:09 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 514 | All documentation is also available on-line via the Python web site | 
|  | 515 | (http://www.python.org/, see below).  It can also be downloaded | 
|  | 516 | separately from the ftp archives (see below) in Emacs INFO, HTML or | 
|  | 517 | PostScript form -- see the web site or the FAQ (file Misc/FAQ) for | 
|  | 518 | more info. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 519 |  | 
|  | 520 |  | 
|  | 521 | Emacs mode | 
|  | 522 | ---------- | 
|  | 523 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | d0fe845 | 1996-08-26 03:02:37 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 524 | There's an excellent Emacs editing mode for Python code; see the file | 
|  | 525 | Misc/python-mode.el.  Originally written by Tim Peters, it is now | 
|  | 526 | maintained by Barry Warsaw <bwarsaw@cnri.reston.va.us>. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 527 |  | 
|  | 528 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 8d7d4ed | 1996-07-30 21:41:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 529 | Web site | 
|  | 530 | -------- | 
|  | 531 |  | 
|  | 532 | Python's own web site has URL http://www.python.org/.  Come visit us! | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 533 | There are a number of mirrors, listed on the home page -- try a mirror | 
|  | 534 | that's close you you. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 8d7d4ed | 1996-07-30 21:41:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 535 |  | 
|  | 536 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | d0fe845 | 1996-08-26 03:02:37 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 537 | Ftp site | 
|  | 538 | -------- | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 539 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 8d7d4ed | 1996-07-30 21:41:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 540 | Python's own ftp site is ftp.python.org, directory /pub/python.  See | 
|  | 541 | the FAQ (file Misc/FAQ) for a list of other ftp sites carrying the | 
| Guido van Rossum | faf681a | 1996-06-20 14:32:08 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 542 | Python distribution. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 543 |  | 
|  | 544 |  | 
|  | 545 | Newsgroup and mailing list | 
|  | 546 | -------------------------- | 
|  | 547 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | dfcf35d | 1996-08-26 17:52:09 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 548 | There are a newsgroup and a mailing list devoted to Python.  The | 
|  | 549 | newsgroup, comp.lang.python, contains exactly the same messages as the | 
|  | 550 | mailing list (though not always in the same order, due to the | 
|  | 551 | mysterious nature of the Usenet news distribution algorithm).  To | 
|  | 552 | subscribe to the mailing list, send mail containing your real name and | 
|  | 553 | e-mail address to "python-list-request@cwi.nl".  Use the same address | 
|  | 554 | if you want to unsibscribed.  (A real person reads these messages, so | 
|  | 555 | no LISTPROC or Majordomo commands, please, and please be patient -- | 
|  | 556 | normal turn-around time is about one working day.) | 
| Guido van Rossum | d0fe845 | 1996-08-26 03:02:37 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 557 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | dfcf35d | 1996-08-26 17:52:09 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 558 | The Python web site contains a search form that lets you search the | 
|  | 559 | newsgroup archives (or the web site itself).  Click on the "search" | 
|  | 560 | link in the banner menu on any page of http://www.python.org/. | 
| Guido van Rossum | d0fe845 | 1996-08-26 03:02:37 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 561 |  | 
|  | 562 |  | 
|  | 563 | Bug reports | 
|  | 564 | ----------- | 
|  | 565 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | dfcf35d | 1996-08-26 17:52:09 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 566 | Bugs are best reported to the comp.lang.python newsgroup or the Python | 
| Guido van Rossum | cc55c2d | 1996-10-21 15:14:27 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 567 | mailing list -- see the section "Newsgroup and mailing list" above. | 
| Guido van Rossum | dfcf35d | 1996-08-26 17:52:09 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 568 | Before posting, check the newsgroup archives (see above) to see if | 
| Guido van Rossum | f501b4e | 1996-10-25 14:32:48 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 569 | your bug has already been reported! | 
| Guido van Rossum | d0fe845 | 1996-08-26 03:02:37 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 570 |  | 
|  | 571 |  | 
|  | 572 | Questions | 
|  | 573 | --------- | 
|  | 574 |  | 
|  | 575 | For help, if you can't find it in the manuals, the FAQ or on the web | 
|  | 576 | site, it's best to post to the comp.lang.python or the Python mailing | 
|  | 577 | list (see above).  If you specifically don't want to involve the | 
|  | 578 | newsgroup or mailing list, send questions to python-help@python.org. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 579 |  | 
|  | 580 |  | 
|  | 581 | The Tk interface | 
|  | 582 | ---------------- | 
|  | 583 |  | 
|  | 584 | Tk (the user interface component of John Ousterhout's Tcl language) is | 
|  | 585 | also usable from Python.  Since this requires that you first build and | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 586 | install Tcl/Tk, the Tk interface is not enabled by default.  It works | 
| Guido van Rossum | f501b4e | 1996-10-25 14:32:48 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 587 | with Tcl 7.5 and Tk 4.1 as well as with Tcl 7.4 and Tk 4.0.  I didn't | 
|  | 588 | have the time to test it with Tcl 7.6 and Tk 4.2 yet, but it might | 
|  | 589 | well work. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 590 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | f501b4e | 1996-10-25 14:32:48 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 591 | See http://www.sunlabs.com/research/tcl/ for more info on where to get | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 592 | Tcl/Tk. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 593 |  | 
|  | 594 | To enable the Python/Tk interface, once you've built and installed | 
|  | 595 | Tcl/Tk, all you need to do is edit two lines in Modules/Setup; search | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 596 | for the string "_tkinter".  Uncomment one (normally the first) of the | 
|  | 597 | lines beginning with "#_tkinter" and un-comment the line beginning | 
|  | 598 | with "#TKPATH".  If you have installed Tcl/Tk or X11 in unusual | 
|  | 599 | places, you will have to edit the first line to fix or add -I and -L | 
|  | 600 | options.  See the Build Instructions above for more details. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 601 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 602 | There is little documentation on how to use Tkinter; however most of | 
|  | 603 | the Tk manual pages apply quite straightforwardly.  Begin with | 
|  | 604 | fetching the "Tk Lifesaver" document, | 
|  | 605 | e.g. ftp://ftp.python.org/pub/python/doc/tkinter-doc.tar.gz (a gzipped | 
|  | 606 | tar file containing a PostScript file) or the on-line version | 
|  | 607 | http://www.python.org/doc/life-preserver/index.html.  Reading the | 
|  | 608 | Tkinter.py source will reveal most details on how Tkinter calls are | 
|  | 609 | translated into Tcl code. | 
|  | 610 |  | 
|  | 611 | There are demos in the Demo/tkinter directory, in the subdirectories | 
|  | 612 | guido, matt and www (the matt and guido subdirectories have been | 
|  | 613 | overhauled to use more recent Tkinter coding conventions). | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 614 |  | 
|  | 615 | Note that there's a Python module called "Tkinter" (capital T) which | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 616 | lives in Lib/tkinter/Tkinter.py, and a C module called "_tkinter" | 
|  | 617 | (lower case t and leading underscore) which lives in | 
|  | 618 | Modules/_tkinter.c.  Demos and normal Tk applications only import the | 
|  | 619 | Python Tkinter module -- only the latter uses the C _tkinter module | 
|  | 620 | directly.  In order to find the C _tkinter module, it must be compiled | 
|  | 621 | and linked into the Python interpreter -- the _tkinter line in the | 
|  | 622 | Setup file does this.  In order to find the Python Tkinter module, | 
|  | 623 | sys.path must be set correctly -- the TKPATH assignment in the Setup | 
|  | 624 | file takes care of this, but only if you install Python properly | 
|  | 625 | ("make install libinstall").  (You can also use dynamic loading for | 
|  | 626 | the C _tkinter module, in which case you must manually fix up sys.path | 
|  | 627 | or set $PYTHONPATH for the Python Tkinter module.) | 
| Guido van Rossum | 84c8c7f | 1995-08-28 02:44:24 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 628 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 629 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 630 | Distribution structure | 
|  | 631 | ---------------------- | 
|  | 632 |  | 
|  | 633 | Most subdirectories have their own README file.  Most files have | 
|  | 634 | comments. | 
|  | 635 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 636 | BUGS            A list of known bugs (not completely up-to-date) | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 637 | Demo/           Demonstration scripts, modules and programs | 
|  | 638 | Doc/            Documentation (LaTeX sources) | 
|  | 639 | Grammar/        Input for the parser generator | 
|  | 640 | Include/        Public header files | 
|  | 641 | Lib/            Python library modules | 
|  | 642 | Makefile.in     Source from which config.status creates Makefile | 
|  | 643 | Misc/           Miscellaneous files | 
|  | 644 | Modules/        Implementation of most built-in modules | 
|  | 645 | Objects/        Implementation of most built-in object types | 
| Guido van Rossum | f501b4e | 1996-10-25 14:32:48 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 646 | PC/             PC porting files (DOS, Windows, NT, OS/2) | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 647 | Parser/         The parser and tokenizer and their input handling | 
|  | 648 | Python/         The "compiler" and interpreter | 
|  | 649 | README          The file you're reading now | 
| Guido van Rossum | f501b4e | 1996-10-25 14:32:48 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 650 | TODO            A list of things that could be done (not up-to-date) | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 651 | Tools/          Some useful programs written in Python | 
|  | 652 | acconfig.h      Additional input for the autoheader program | 
|  | 653 | config.h.in     Source from which config.status creates config.h | 
|  | 654 | configure       Configuration shell script (GNU autoconf output) | 
|  | 655 | configure.in    Configuration specification (GNU autoconf input) | 
|  | 656 | install-sh      Shell script used to install files | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 657 |  | 
|  | 658 | The following files will (may) be created in the toplevel directory by | 
|  | 659 | the configuration and build processes: | 
|  | 660 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 6d9cc80 | 1996-08-01 17:31:22 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 661 | Makefile        Build rules | 
|  | 662 | config.cache    cache of configuration variables | 
|  | 663 | config.h        Configuration header | 
|  | 664 | config.log      log from last configure run | 
|  | 665 | config.status   status from last run of configure script | 
|  | 666 | python          The executable interpreter | 
|  | 667 | tags, TAGS      Tags files for vi and Emacs | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 668 |  | 
|  | 669 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 670 | Author's address | 
| Guido van Rossum | d0fe845 | 1996-08-26 03:02:37 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 671 | ================ | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 672 |  | 
|  | 673 | Guido van Rossum | 
| Guido van Rossum | faf681a | 1996-06-20 14:32:08 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 674 | CNRI | 
|  | 675 | 1895 Preston White Drive | 
| Guido van Rossum | 8d7d4ed | 1996-07-30 21:41:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 676 | Reston, VA 20191 | 
| Guido van Rossum | faf681a | 1996-06-20 14:32:08 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 677 | USA | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 678 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | d0fe845 | 1996-08-26 03:02:37 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 679 | E-mail: guido@cnri.reston.va.us or guido@python.org | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 680 |  | 
|  | 681 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 682 |  | 
|  | 683 | Copyright notice | 
|  | 684 | ================ | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 685 |  | 
|  | 686 | The Python source is copyrighted, but you can freely use and copy it | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 687 | as long as you don't change or remove the copyright notice: | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 688 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 689 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | 
| Guido van Rossum | af5b83e | 1995-01-04 19:02:35 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 690 | Copyright 1991-1995 by Stichting Mathematisch Centrum, Amsterdam, | 
|  | 691 | The Netherlands. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 692 |  | 
|  | 693 | All Rights Reserved | 
|  | 694 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | c561e5d | 1994-08-23 13:52:46 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 695 | Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its | 
|  | 696 | documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 697 | provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that | 
| Guido van Rossum | c561e5d | 1994-08-23 13:52:46 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 698 | both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 699 | supporting documentation, and that the names of Stichting Mathematisch | 
| Guido van Rossum | f501b4e | 1996-10-25 14:32:48 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 700 | Centrum or CWI or Corporation for National Research Initiatives or | 
|  | 701 | CNRI not be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to | 
|  | 702 | distribution of the software without specific, written prior | 
|  | 703 | permission. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 704 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | f501b4e | 1996-10-25 14:32:48 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 705 | While CWI is the initial source for this software, a modified version | 
|  | 706 | is made available by the Corporation for National Research Initiatives | 
|  | 707 | (CNRI) at the Internet address ftp://ftp.python.org. | 
|  | 708 |  | 
|  | 709 | STICHTING MATHEMATISCH CENTRUM AND CNRI DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES WITH | 
|  | 710 | REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF | 
|  | 711 | MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS, IN NO EVENT SHALL STICHTING MATHEMATISCH | 
|  | 712 | CENTRUM OR CNRI BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL | 
|  | 713 | DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR | 
|  | 714 | PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER | 
|  | 715 | TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR | 
|  | 716 | PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE. | 
| Guido van Rossum | 91cb9d2 | 1995-04-10 11:47:38 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 717 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | 
| Guido van Rossum | 433c8ad | 1994-08-01 12:07:07 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 718 |  | 
|  | 719 |  | 
| Guido van Rossum | faf681a | 1996-06-20 14:32:08 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 720 | --Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/) |