In article <5465ee790903220622m7897dfcch7e8d838e6b429...@mail.gmail.com>, Chris Van Bael <chris.van.b...@gmail.com> wrote: > some simple questions: > - if I installed another Python, how can I start it? Whenever I open > a terminal and type "python", I get Python 2.5.1, which I assume is > the Python from Apple. > - On Windows there is the directory /Lib/site-packages, I can't find > this one on my Mac.
For python.org installers, each python major version lives in its own framework sub-tree rooted at: /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/m.n/ where m.n is 2.5, 2.6, 3.0, etc. At the top level of each version's subtree, there are bin, lib, include and other directories. You'll find a pythonm.n executable and a python symlink to it in the bin directory. Site packages for each version reside within its subtree lib directory but normally you don't need to manipulate those directly. By default, distutils (and its users, easy_install, pip, virtualenv et al) will install extensions to the right site-library by running under the setup.py script or easy_install or pip under the appropriate version of the python executable. Extension scripts will also be installed in the corresponding bin directory. So to select which python you want to start, you can invoke it directly with: /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.5/bin/python or modify your shell path to ensure that bin directory comes before /usr/bin where the Apple-supplied python resides. Or create a shell alias to it. Or use /usr/local/bin/pythonm.n because the python.org 2.x installers create a link there by default - but beware because (1) that doesn't help for installed scripts, (2) can be confusing with multiple versions, and (3) by default the 3.x installers do not create that link. For development environments with multiple versions, a good solution these days is to use virtualenv. Jesse Noller has a very good overview of how to do that here: <http://jessenoller.com/2009/03/16/so-you-want-to-use-python-on-the-mac/> Again, all of the above applies to python.org installers. For the record, the Apple-supplied python uses a more elaborate framework scheme, split between /System/Library/Frameworks and /Library/Python, with different defaults. macports uses a framework scheme rooted at /opt/local/Library/Frameworks. And fink python installs are more debian-y style non-framework layouts in /sw/{bin,lib,...}. -- Ned Deily, n...@acm.org _______________________________________________ Pythonmac-SIG maillist - Pythonmac-SIG@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/pythonmac-sig
