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.. highlightlang:: none
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Using Python on Unix platforms
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.. sectionauthor:: Shriphani Palakodety
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Getting and installing the latest version of Python
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===================================================
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Python comes preinstalled on most Linux distributions, and is available as a
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package on all others. However there are certain features you might want to use
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that are not available on your distro's package. You can easily compile the
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latest version of Python from source.
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In the event that Python doesn't come preinstalled and isn't in the repositories as
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well, you can easily make packages for your own distro. Have a look at the
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http://www.linux.com/articles/60383
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http://linuxmafia.com/pub/linux/suse-linux-internals/chapter35.html
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http://docs.fedoraproject.org/drafts/rpm-guide-en/ch-creating-rpms.html
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http://www.slackbook.org/html/package-management-making-packages.html
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On FreeBSD and OpenBSD
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----------------------
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* FreeBSD users, to add the package use::
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pkg_add ftp://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/4.2/packages/<insert your architecture here>/python-<version>.tgz
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For example i386 users get the 2.5.1 version of Python using::
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pkg_add ftp://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/4.2/packages/i386/python-2.5.1p2.tgz
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To install the newest Python versions on OpenSolaris, install blastwave
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(http://www.blastwave.org/howto.html) and type "pkg_get -i python" at the
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If you want to compile CPython yourself, first thing you should do is get the
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`source <http://python.org/download/source/>`_. You can download either the
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latest release's source or just grab a fresh `checkout
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<http://www.python.org/dev/faq/#how-do-i-get-a-checkout-of-the-repository-read-only-and-read-write>`_.
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The build process consists the usual ::
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invocations. Configuration options and caveats for specific Unix platforms are
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extensively documented in the :file:`README` file in the root of the Python
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``make install`` can overwrite or masquerade the :file:`python` binary.
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``make altinstall`` is therefore recommended instead of ``make install``
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since it only installs :file:`{exec_prefix}/bin/python{version}`.
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Python-related paths and files
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==============================
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These are subject to difference depending on local installation conventions;
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:envvar:`prefix` (``${prefix}``) and :envvar:`exec_prefix` (``${exec_prefix}``)
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are installation-dependent and should be interpreted as for GNU software; they
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For example, on most Linux systems, the default for both is :file:`/usr`.
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+-----------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------+
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| File/directory | Meaning |
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+===============================================+==========================================+
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| :file:`{exec_prefix}/bin/python` | Recommended location of the interpreter. |
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+-----------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------+
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| :file:`{prefix}/lib/python{version}`, | Recommended locations of the directories |
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| :file:`{exec_prefix}/lib/python{version}` | containing the standard modules. |
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+-----------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------+
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| :file:`{prefix}/include/python{version}`, | Recommended locations of the directories |
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| :file:`{exec_prefix}/include/python{version}` | containing the include files needed for |
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| | developing Python extensions and |
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| | embedding the interpreter. |
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+-----------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------+
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| :file:`~/.pythonrc.py` | User-specific initialization file loaded |
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| | by the user module; not used by default |
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| | or by most applications. |
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+-----------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------+
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To easily use Python scripts on Unix, you need to make them executable,
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and put an appropriate Shebang line at the top of the script. A good choice is
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#!/usr/bin/env python
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which searches for the Python interpreter in the whole :envvar:`PATH`. However,
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some Unices may not have the :program:`env` command, so you may need to hardcode
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``/usr/bin/python`` as the interpreter path.
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To use shell commands in your python scripts, look at the :mod:`subprocess` module.
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Vim and Emacs are excellent editors which support Python very well. For more
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information on how to code in python in these editors, look at:
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* http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=790
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* http://sourceforge.net/projects/python-mode
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Geany is an excellent IDE with support for a lot of languages. For more
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information, read: http://geany.uvena.de/
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Komodo edit is another extremely good IDE. It also has support for a lot of
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languages. For more information, read:
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http://www.activestate.com/store/productdetail.aspx?prdGuid=20f4ed15-6684-4118-a78b-d37ff4058c5f