which windows python to use?

Hello,

Are there any recommendations for which Windows python version to use? I'd like to
see a pros-and-cons description of each, given that different uses might dictate
different versions. The versions I know (and there are surely more) are:

1) download from www.python.org
2) enthought
3) activepython

Are there advantages/disadvantages? I have used enthought before, but it seems as if
they are not at 2.4, and may lag behind in versions (which may not be a bad thing).

Any other recommendations?


thanks,

Brian Blais


--
-----------------

bblais@bryant.edu
http://web.bryant.edu/~bblais

re: which windows python to use?

Brian Blais wrote:[color=blue]
> Hello,
>
> Are there any recommendations for which Windows python version to use?
> I'd like to see a pros-and-cons description of each, given that
> different uses might dictate different versions. The versions I know
> (and there are surely more) are:
>
> 1) download from www.python.org
> 2) enthought
> 3) activepython[/color]

FWIW, I would stick to the 'authentic' version of Python (i.e. the first
choice). Not that the others are much different, I don't think, but like
you said you'll have the newest version from python.org.

Also, as a newcomer to Python, I find it more helpful to have to do some
things manually, such as installing extra packages/modules that might
already come with the other distributions. This way, you learn how to do
these things, and you also get a better idea of what really comes with
Python and what is bundled on by the other companies. ActivePython is
also touted because it comes with an IDE for Windows, but again, it's
better to write your code by hand at first and really learn what you're
doing.

re: which windows python to use?

Brian Blais wrote:
[color=blue]
> Hello,
>
> Are there any recommendations for which Windows python version to use? I'd like to
> see a pros-and-cons description of each, given that different uses might dictate
> different versions. The versions I know (and there are surely more) are:
>
> 1) download from www.python.org
> 2) enthought
> 3) activepython
>
> Are there advantages/disadvantages? I have used enthought before, but it seems as if
> they are not at 2.4, and may lag behind in versions (which may not be a bad thing).[/color]

It depends on what you want to do. If you're going to use SciPy (a
library for scientific computing), I'd suggest using enthought, as
installing SciPy on windows can be a real nightmare for a newbie...
Anyway, the enthought edition comes with lots of interesting libraries
installed (listed on their homepage), you might want to look at them
even if you don't use their distribution. Note that you can have more
than one Python installation on the same PC, so you can also work with
Python 2.4 (from www.python.org) and switch to enthought for certain
projectes if you need it.

I haven't looked into ActivePython too much, from what I read it seemed
more or less standard python + mark hammonds Win32 utils, but you can
install those manually on a plain www.python.org-distribution.

re: which windows python to use?

Brian Blais wrote:[color=blue]
> Are there any recommendations for which Windows python version to use?[/color]
Only if you have criteria.

--Scott David Daniels
scott.daniels@acm.org

re: which windows python to use?

Brian Blais wrote:[color=blue]
> Hello,
>
> Are there any recommendations for which Windows python version to use?
> I'd like to see a pros-and-cons description of each, given that
> different uses might dictate different versions. The versions I know
> (and there are surely more) are:
>
> 1) download from www.python.org
> 2) enthought
> 3) activepython
>
> Are there advantages/disadvantages? I have used enthought before, but
> it seems as if they are not at 2.4, and may lag behind in versions
> (which may not be a bad thing).
>
> Any other recommendations?
>
>
> thanks,
>
> Brian Blais
>
>[/color]

Enthought does not play well with cygwin, I've noticed.

James

--
James Stroud
UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics
Box 951570
Los Angeles, CA 90095

http://www.jamesstroud.com/

re: which windows python to use?

James Stroud wrote:
[color=blue]
> Enthought does not play well with cygwin, I've noticed.[/color]

In what way? Does the mingw gcc that we distribute interfere with Cygwin's gcc?

--
Robert Kern

"I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma
that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had
an underlying truth."
-- Umberto Eco

re: which windows python to use?

hi,

if mathematical and numerical algorithm are all you need, then just go
for Enthought distribution + Matplotlib. The Enthought distribution
provides all packages you need and handy for insatllation!

My combo:
1. Enthought Distribution
2. Matplotlib
3. EmEditor



Brian Blais wrote:[color=blue]
> Hello,
>
> Are there any recommendations for which Windows python version to use?
> I'd like to see a pros-and-cons description of each, given that
> different uses might dictate different versions. The versions I know
> (and there are surely more) are:
>
> 1) download from www.python.org
> 2) enthought
> 3) activepython
>
> Are there advantages/disadvantages? I have used enthought before, but
> it seems as if they are not at 2.4, and may lag behind in versions
> (which may not be a bad thing).
>
> Any other recommendations?
>
>
> thanks,
>
> Brian Blais
>
>[/color]

re: which windows python to use?

I tend to do ActivePython because the OSX version seems to come out a
bit quicker. Although that might change in the future.

Robert

re: which windows python to use?

Robert Kern wrote:[color=blue]
> James Stroud wrote:
>
>[color=green]
>>Enthought does not play well with cygwin, I've noticed.[/color]
>
>
> In what way? Does the mingw gcc that we distribute interfere with Cygwin's gcc?
>[/color]

One can not run the enthought python interactive interpreter from a
cygwin x-window session, it locks up.

James

--
James Stroud
UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics
Box 951570
Los Angeles, CA 90095

http://www.jamesstroud.com/

re: which windows python to use?

James Stroud wrote:[color=blue]
> Robert Kern wrote:
>[color=green]
>>James Stroud wrote:
>>[color=darkred]
>>>Enthought does not play well with cygwin, I've noticed.[/color]
>>
>>In what way? Does the mingw gcc that we distribute interfere with Cygwin's gcc?[/color]
>
> One can not run the enthought python interactive interpreter from a
> cygwin x-window session, it locks up.[/color]

Interesting. I've seen the same thing with MSYS's rxvt ("native", not X). I
presumed it was a strange interaction between bash and (any) Python. Looks like
it may just be our Python, then. I'll enter a ticket on our Trac. Thank you!

--
Robert Kern

"I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma
that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had
an underlying truth."
-- Umberto Eco

re: which windows python to use?

Robert Kern wrote:
[color=blue]
> In what way? Does the mingw gcc that we distribute interfere with Cygwin's gcc?[/color]

Robert:

Which C compiler will you be using for the Enthought 2.4 Windows release?

Don.

re: which windows python to use?

Robert Kern wrote:[color=blue]
> James Stroud wrote:
>[color=green]
>>Robert Kern wrote:
>>[color=darkred]
>>>James Stroud wrote:
>>>
>>>>Enthought does not play well with cygwin, I've noticed.
>>>
>>>In what way? Does the mingw gcc that we distribute interfere with Cygwin's gcc?[/color]
>>
>>One can not run the enthought python interactive interpreter from a
>>cygwin x-window session, it locks up.[/color]
>
> Interesting. I've seen the same thing with MSYS's rxvt ("native", not X). I
> presumed it was a strange interaction between bash and (any) Python. Looks like
> it may just be our Python, then. I'll enter a ticket on our Trac. Thank you![/color]

My officemate notes that we ship readline. It is possible that readline is
expecting CMD.EXE not a decent terminal.

--
Robert Kern

"I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma
that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had
an underlying truth."
-- Umberto Eco

re: which windows python to use?

Don Taylor wrote:[color=blue]
> Robert Kern wrote:
>[color=green]
>>In what way? Does the mingw gcc that we distribute interfere with Cygwin's gcc?[/color]
>
> Robert:
>
> Which C compiler will you be using for the Enthought 2.4 Windows release?[/color]

Define "using". We build Python with whatever compiler the official build is
compiled with. In this case, MSVC 7.<mumble>, I think . For this release, we
will ship the latest available gcc available for mingw. Some of the extension
modules will be built with this gcc.

--
Robert Kern

"I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma
that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had
an underlying truth."
-- Umberto Eco

re: which windows python to use?

James Stroud wrote:[color=blue]
> Robert Kern wrote:
>[color=green]
>>James Stroud wrote:
>>[color=darkred]
>>>Enthought does not play well with cygwin, I've noticed.[/color]
>>
>>In what way? Does the mingw gcc that we distribute interfere with Cygwin's gcc?[/color]
>
> One can not run the enthought python interactive interpreter from a
> cygwin x-window session, it locks up.[/color]

Our build person tells me that he sees the same problem with the standard build
of Python.

http://svn.enthought.com/enthought/ticket/715

--
Robert Kern

"I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma
that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had
an underlying truth."
-- Umberto Eco

re: which windows python to use?

Robert Kern wrote:
[color=blue][color=green]
>>Which C compiler will you be using for the Enthought 2.4 Windows release?[/color]
>
>
> Define "using". We build Python with whatever compiler the official build is
> compiled with. In this case, MSVC 7.<mumble>, I think . For this release, we
> will ship the latest available gcc available for mingw. Some of the extension
> modules will be built with this gcc.
>[/color]

I meant to build Python itself.

I asked because I was interested in trying your Traits package but could
not use it with Python 2.4. I don't have MSVC 7 and I was intimidated
by the prospect of building the CTraits extension with either the free
MS toolkit or mingw and munging the dlls to conform to the MSVC 7 formats.

I just wondered if Enthought's distro for Windows was gcc-based.

Don.

re: which windows python to use?

Don Taylor wrote:[color=blue]
> Robert Kern wrote:
>[color=green][color=darkred]
>>>Which C compiler will you be using for the Enthought 2.4 Windows release?[/color]
>>
>>Define "using". We build Python with whatever compiler the official build is
>>compiled with. In this case, MSVC 7.<mumble>, I think . For this release, we
>>will ship the latest available gcc available for mingw. Some of the extension
>>modules will be built with this gcc.[/color]
>
> I meant to build Python itself.
>
> I asked because I was interested in trying your Traits package but could
> not use it with Python 2.4. I don't have MSVC 7 and I was intimidated
> by the prospect of building the CTraits extension with either the free
> MS toolkit or mingw and munging the dlls to conform to the MSVC 7 formats.
>
> I just wondered if Enthought's distro for Windows was gcc-based.[/color]

The Python interpreter is not. Most of the extension modules we build are.
Building stock-2.4 extension modules using mingw works for the most part. It
certainly does for Traits as we build Traits using mingw. Most extension modules
compiled this way appear to work. There are still some incompatibilities with
C++ modules that use iostream and possibly some C modules that use, IIRC,
ischar() and friends. Until someone fully ports mingw to use msvcr71.dll as its
C runtime, those incompatibilities will remain.

--
Robert Kern

"I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma
that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had
an underlying truth."
-- Umberto Eco