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.. _using-on-mac:

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Using Python on a Macintosh
***************************

:Author: Bob Savage <bobsavage@mac.com>


Python on a Macintosh running Mac OS X is in principle very similar to Python on
any other Unix platform, but there are a number of additional features such as
the IDE and the Package Manager that are worth pointing out.

The Mac-specific modules are documented in :ref:`mac-specific-services`.

Python on Mac OS 9 or earlier can be quite different from Python on Unix or
Windows, but is beyond the scope of this manual, as that platform is no longer
supported, starting with Python 2.4. See http://www.cwi.nl/~jack/macpython for
installers for the latest 2.3 release for Mac OS 9 and related documentation.


.. _getting-osx:

Getting and Installing MacPython
================================

Mac OS X 10.8 comes with Python 2.7 pre-installed by Apple.  If you wish, you
are invited to install the most recent version of Python from the Python website
(http://www.python.org).  A current "universal binary" build of Python, which
runs natively on the Mac's new Intel and legacy PPC CPU's, is available there.

What you get after installing is a number of things:

* A :file:`MacPython 2.7` folder in your :file:`Applications` folder. In here
  you find IDLE, the development environment that is a standard part of official
  Python distributions; PythonLauncher, which handles double-clicking Python
  scripts from the Finder; and the "Build Applet" tool, which allows you to
  package Python scripts as standalone applications on your system.

* A framework :file:`/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework`, which includes the
  Python executable and libraries. The installer adds this location to your shell
  path. To uninstall MacPython, you can simply remove these three things. A
  symlink to the Python executable is placed in /usr/local/bin/.

The Apple-provided build of Python is installed in
:file:`/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework` and :file:`/usr/bin/python`,
respectively. You should never modify or delete these, as they are
Apple-controlled and are used by Apple- or third-party software.  Remember that
if you choose to install a newer Python version from python.org, you will have
two different but functional Python installations on your computer, so it will
be important that your paths and usages are consistent with what you want to do.

IDLE includes a help menu that allows you to access Python documentation. If you
are completely new to Python you should start reading the tutorial introduction
in that document.

If you are familiar with Python on other Unix platforms you should read the
section on running Python scripts from the Unix shell.


How to run a Python script
--------------------------

Your best way to get started with Python on Mac OS X is through the IDLE
integrated development environment, see section :ref:`ide` and use the Help menu
when the IDE is running.

If you want to run Python scripts from the Terminal window command line or from
the Finder you first need an editor to create your script. Mac OS X comes with a
number of standard Unix command line editors, :program:`vim` and
:program:`emacs` among them. If you want a more Mac-like editor,
:program:`BBEdit` or :program:`TextWrangler` from Bare Bones Software (see
http://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/index.shtml) are good choices, as is
:program:`TextMate` (see http://macromates.com/). Other editors include
:program:`Gvim` (http://macvim.org) and :program:`Aquamacs`
(http://aquamacs.org/).

To run your script from the Terminal window you must make sure that
:file:`/usr/local/bin` is in your shell search path.

To run your script from the Finder you have two options:

* Drag it to :program:`PythonLauncher`

* Select :program:`PythonLauncher` as the default application to open your
  script (or any .py script) through the finder Info window and double-click it.
  :program:`PythonLauncher` has various preferences to control how your script is
  launched