[PyKDE] Re: [Pythonmac-SIG] ANN: PyQt-Mac binary installer, 11-2004-fix, available

[Bob Ippolito]

On Nov 20, 2004, at 6:48 PM, Kevin Walzer wrote:

> Bob Ippolito wrote:
>
> |Thanks for clarifying this. I used PythonIDE to generate the applet
> bundle, and never noticed that it created this dependency. I'm assuming
> that since it's only being maintained, not developed, that there are
> probably no plans to change this. I notice that PyOXIDE sets things up
> the way you suggest, so I will probably switch to that in the next  
> version.
>
> Question, though: aren't PythonLauncher and pythonw part of the
> MacPython distribution? Would a Python app bundle launch correctly if
> these tools weren't installed? Or are they part of the stock Apple  
> build
> of Python?

They are included on a stock Mac OS X 10.3+ machine:
/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.3/Resources/ 
PythonLauncher.app
/usr/bin/pythonw

The MacPython additions mostly just install the _waste extension module  
and creates a bunch of application bundles or aliases in your  
application folder.  The code behind these applications is basically  
already installed, though.

> I realize that using applets as the basis for my app bundles isn't
> really the best way to do it, but it does work if the supporting
> libraries (PyQt, tkinter, wxPython, whatever) are installed. I do plan
> to spend more time with py2app learning its ins and outs--a lot of it  
> is
> over my head right now--because I know, overall, that it's a better way
> to distibute Python applications (more complexity on the developer end,
> but a lot less on the end user).

Using py2app is only as complex as your requirements.  py2app comes  
with a BuildApplet equivalent where you just drag a source file, icon,  
Info.plist, resources, etc. and it figures out a reasonable thing to do  
from there.  I can't imagine how it could get any easier.  The most  
important feature, of course, is that it actually does what you want a  
heck of a lot more often than BuildApplet will.  This applet is  
installed as:
/Developer/Applications/Python\ Tools/py2app/py2applet.app (if you are  
using the .pkg installer of 0.1.5 that I posted).

If you want to distribute applications that *require* preinstalled  
components, then you would do something like python setup.py  
--site-packages --excludes=wx,wxPython (UNTESTED).. but that's  
obviously not useful very often.  By default, the user's site-packages  
is removed from sys.path, so that your application launches in a  
deterministic environment that's much easier to test against (you'll  
quickly see if it missed anything due to hidden imports).   
--site-packages turns this feature off, which is necessary when you  
want to depend on existing components (that are installed to the normal  
place, anyway).

  Incidentally, PyQt would be a lot harder to exclude, because it's  
poorly designed and just throws a whole mess of modules into the root  
of your site-packages.

-bob