James, I too am brand new to the whole Python/GTK/Linux thing as well. I'm really looking forward to reading about your experiences as you learn and I have planned to document mine as well. There seems to be very few entry level tutorials for people who are new to the entire platform. Coming from the Windows/Visual Studio world, I've had a lot of trouble just getting things set up so I can write some code. I don't know how much I can help you with your particular issue, but I will share what I am doing so far in case there are other folks struggling.
I have managed to get Ubuntu 7.10 running under VMWare. I downloaded a prebuilt VM here: http://isv-image.ubuntu.com/vmware/Ubuntu-7.10-desktop-i386.zip. It seems to work pretty well and saved me a lot of install time. I then used the built in package manager to install what looks like a pretty decent IDE called Eric. The website is at: http://www.die-offenbachs.de/eric/index.html. If you decide to use GTK, check out a GUI builder called Gazpacho. It's like GLADE but seems a little slicker to me at first glance. It can also be installed from the package manager in Ubuntu, but the website is located here: http://gazpacho.sicem.biz/. You asked about mixing GTK and PyGame and I ran across a Wiki entry saying it can't be done. I don't know first hand, but here's the entry: http://www.pygame.org/wiki/gui?parent=index. I don't actually have an XO laptop, so I installed it in a VM by downloading a prebuilt image here: http://dev.laptop.org/pub/virtualbox/. So that's the environment I have set up and I'm just starting to write some basic "hello world" type apps using GTK. I have no idea how they will appear or integrate with Sugar on the XO though. What I have not figured out yet is how to get my programs over to the XO virtual machine. This is where my lack of Linux knowledge is really killing me. Do I FTP it over somehow? Dana James Newton wrote: > Hi Python activity developers, > > I am fairly new to Python and to Linux. I have a number of ideas for > educational activities that I would like to create for the XO. I'm > currently working on a Snakes and Ladders game. I have plans for several > other activities, including an Abacus, a game for stimulating mental imagery > and a co-operative game based on micro-loans. > > I have spent some weeks now looking for the right tools to help me develop > these activities. In the hope that I may have missed an obvious but ideal > solution, I'd like to give a summary of what I'm hoping to do, and ask you > for your suggestions. > > Modules > ======= > So far, I've been using Pygame to display the background and counters at > precise positions on the screen. My understanding is the PyGTK might more > economical in terms of CPU usage than PyGame, and that it would let me use > Glade to layout the screens. > > On the one hand, I am unsure how I could deal with multiple overlapping > counters [2] or a criss-cross arrangement of snakes and ladders [4, 5] in > PyGTK. On the other, creating a separate screen for setting seems simpler > in PyGTK than in Pygame. > > Is it possible to use the two approaches together? > > Platform > ======== > My background is in Macromedia Director, which I have used at a high level > for over ten years. I'd probably be most productive most quickly if I could > find a similar authoring environment for Python. Having said that, I > understand that Python uses a very different metaphor, so, in the long term, > I would be better off using a purely Pythonic environment. I'm looking for > new good habits to acquire. > > I have done most of my Python development so far on Windows, using IDLE. I > am also very much at ease on Macintosh. I would guess that the closer my > development environment is to the XO environment, the smoother the > development process will go. I have managed to get a machine set up to run > Ubuntu 7.10, but I haven't found how to install IDLE on it. > > I have found a list of Python IDEs at > <http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Devtools/ides.html>, but no reviews that allow me > to compare them. I would be willing to pay for an IDE (shareware or > otherwise) if that is what you recommend. > > > I understand that personal preferences play a large part in choosing both > what modules to use for a particular development and what platform and > environment to work with. So what would your personal preferences be for > the project I describe above and why? > > > Thanks in advance for your insight. In return, I plan to create a series of > tutorials[1], written from my beginner-to-the-whole-Python-Linux-XO-thing > point of view, so that others interested in writing XO activities can get up > and running faster. > > James > > > [1] Examples > For the XO: <http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Ethiopian_Setup> > For Director: <http://nonlinear.openspark.com/articles/index.htm> > > _______________________________________________ > Devel mailing list > Devel@lists.laptop.org > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/devel > _______________________________________________ Devel mailing list Devel@lists.laptop.org http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/devel