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Many changes suggested by Bob Weiner, mostly small grammatical fixes

Browse Source 
or other clarifications, with the occasional plug for BeOpen
PythonLabs thrown in.  Also added a trademarks disclaimer.
This commit is contained in:
Guido van Rossum 2000-09-05 16:46:22 +00:00
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README
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@ -10,22 +10,27 @@ All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 1991-1995 Stichting Mathematisch Centrum.
All rights reserved.
License information
-------------------
See the file "LICENSE" for information on terms & conditions for
accessing and otherwise using this software, and for a DISCLAIMER OF
ALL WARRANTIES.
See the file "LICENSE" for information on the history of this
software, terms & conditions for usage, and a DISCLAIMER OF ALL
WARRANTIES.
The Python distribution is *not* affected by the GNU Public Licence
(GPL). There are interfaces to some GNU code but these are entirely
optional and no GNU code is distributed with Python.
This Python distribution contains no GNU General Public Licensed
(GPLed) code so it may be used in proprietary projects just like prior
Python distributions. There are interfaces to some GNU code but these
are entirely optional.
All trademarks referenced herein are property of their respective
holders.
What's new in this release?
---------------------------
See the file Misc/NEWS; see also this URL:
See the file "Misc/NEWS"; see also this URL:
http://www.pythonlabs.com/tech/python2.html
@ -36,17 +41,22 @@ Congratulations on getting this far. :-)
To start building right away (on UNIX): type "./configure" in the
current directory and when it finishes, type "make". The section
Build Instructions below is still recommended reading, especially the
part on customizing Modules/Setup.
`Build Instructions' below is still recommended reading, especially
the part on customizing Modules/Setup.
What is Python anyway?
----------------------
Python is an interpreted object-oriented programming language. It is
often compared to Tcl, Perl, Java, JavaScript, Visual Basic or Scheme.
To find out more about what Python can do for you, point your browser
to http://www.pythonlabs.com/.
Python is an interpreted object-oriented programming language suitable
(amongst other uses) for distributed application development,
scripting, numeric computing and system testing. Python is often
compared to Tcl, Perl, Java, JavaScript, Visual Basic or Scheme. To
find out more about what Python can do for you, point your browser to
http://www.pythonlabs.com/.
BeOpen Python releases include pre-built Python executables for major
platforms and are available from PythonLabs.
How do I learn Python?
@ -65,62 +75,63 @@ Documentation
All documentation is provided online in a variety of formats. In
order of importance for new users: Tutorial, Library Reference,
Language Reference, Extending & Embedding, and the Python/C API.
Especially the Library Reference is of immense value since much of
Python's power (including the built-in data types and functions!) is
described there.
Language Reference, Extending & Embedding, and the Python/C API. The
Library Reference is especially of immense value since much of
Python's power is described there, including the built-in data types
and functions!
All documentation is also available online via the Python web site
All documentation is also available online at the Python web site
(http://www.python.org/doc/, see below). It is available online for
occaissional reference, or can be downloaded in many formats for
faster access. The documents are available in HTML, PostScript, PDF,
HTML Help, and LaTeX; the LaTeX version is primarily for documentation
authors or people with special formatting requirements.
occasional reference, or can be downloaded in many formats for faster
access. The documentation is available in HTML, PostScript, PDF, HTML
Help, and LaTeX formats; the LaTeX version is primarily for
documentation authors or people with special formatting requirements.
Web site
--------
Web sites
---------
Python's web site is at http://www.python.org/. The Python core
development team at BeOpen has its own website at
New Python releases and related technologies are published at
http://www.pythonlabs.com/. Come visit us!
The present Python community web site is http://www.python.org/.
BeOpen.com is developing a next-generation community site for Python
and is looking for volunteers to help make this an even better
resource than the existing community site. If you know Python well
and would like to volunteer to work with us on this project, please
contact <volunteer@pythonlabs.com> with a summary of your skills.
Newsgroups
----------
Newsgroups and Mailing Lists
----------------------------
Read comp.lang.python, a high-volume discussion newsgroup about
Python, or comp.lang.python.announce, a low-volume moderated newsgroup
for Python-related announcements. These are also accessible as
mailing lists, see the next item.
mailing lists: see http://www.python.org/psa/MailingLists.html for an
overview of the many Python-related mailing lists.
Archives are accessible via Deja News; the Python website has a
query form for the archives at http://www.python.org/search/.
Mailing lists
-------------
See http://www.python.org/psa/MailingLists.html for an overview of the
many Python related mailing lists.
Archives are accessible via Deja.com Usenet News: see
http://www.deja.com/usenet. The mailing lists are also archived, see
http://www.python.org/psa/MailingLists.html for details.
Bug reports
-----------
To report or search for bugs, please use the SourceForge Bugs
Tracker at http://sourceforge.net/bugs/?group_id=5470 .
To report or search for bugs, please use the Python Bug
Tracker at http://sourceforge.net/bugs/?group_id=5470.
Patches and contributions
-------------------------
To submit a patch or other contribution, please use the SourceForge
Patch Manager at http://sourceforge.net/patch/?group_id=5470 .
To submit a patch or other contribution, please use the Python
Patch Manager at http://sourceforge.net/patch/?group_id=5470.
If you have a proposal to change Python, it's best to submit a Python
Enhancement Proposal (PEP) first. All current PEPs, as well as
guidelines for submitting a new PEP, are here:
guidelines for submitting a new PEP, are list at
http://python.sourceforge.net/peps/.
@ -131,24 +142,22 @@ For help, if you can't find it in the manuals or on the web site, it's
best to post to the comp.lang.python or the Python mailing list (see
above). If you specifically don't want to involve the newsgroup or
mailing list, send questions to <help@python.org> (a group of
volunteers which does *not* include me). Because of my work and email
volume, I'm often be slow in answering questions sent to me directly;
I prefer to answer questions posted to the newsgroup.
volunteers who answer questions as they can). The newsgroup is the
most efficient way to ask public questions.
Build instructions
==================
Before you can build Python, you must first configure it.
Fortunately, the configuration and build process has been streamlined
for most Unix installations, so all you have to do is type a few
commands, optionally edit one file, and sit back. There are some
platforms where things are not quite as smooth; see the platform
specific notes below. If you want to build for multiple platforms
sharing the same source tree, see the section on VPATH below.
Before you can build Python, you must first configure it. Fortunately,
the configuration and build process has been streamlined for most Unix
installations, so all you have to do is type a few commands,
optionally edit one file, and sit back. There are some platforms
where things are not quite as smooth; see the platform specific notes
below. If you want to build for multiple platforms sharing the same
source tree, see the section on VPATH below.
You start by running the script "./configure", which figures out your
You start by running the script "./configure", which determines your
system configuration and creates several Makefiles. (It takes a
minute or two -- please be patient!) When it's done, you are ready to
run make. You may want to pass options to the configure script, or
@ -156,16 +165,17 @@ edit the Setup file -- see the section below on configuration options
and variables.
To build Python, you normally type "make" in the toplevel directory.
This will recursively run make in each of the subdirectories Parser,
Objects, Python and Modules, creating a library file in each one. The
executable of the interpreter is built in the Modules subdirectory and
moved up here when it is built. If you want or need to, you can also
chdir into each subdirectory in turn and run make there manually (do
the Modules subdirectory last!).
This will recursively run make in each of the subdirectories: Grammar,
Parser, Objects, Python and Modules, creating a library file in each
one (except Grammar). The interpreter executable is built in the top
level directory. If you want or need to, you can also chdir into each
subdirectory in turn and run make there manually (do the Modules
subdirectory last; you must use "make all sharedmods" to build the
dynamically loadable modules, if you have any).
Once you have built an interpreter, see the subsections below on
Once you have built a Python interpreter, see the subsections below on
testing, configuring additional modules, and installation. If you run
in trouble, see the next section.
into trouble, see the next section.
Troubleshooting
@ -191,7 +201,7 @@ configure problem, be sure to remove config.cache!
If you get a warning for every file about the -Olimit option being no
longer supported, you can ignore it. There's no foolproof way to know
whether this option is needed; all I can do is test whether it is
whether this option is needed; all we can do is test whether it is
accepted without error. On some systems, e.g. older SGI compilers, it
is essential for performance (specifically when compiling ceval.c,
which has more basic blocks than the default limit of 1000). If the
@ -214,13 +224,13 @@ Platform specific notes
-----------------------
(Some of these may no longer apply. If you find you can build Python
on these platforms without the special directions mentioned here, let
me know so I can remove them!)
on these platforms without the special directions mentioned here, mail
to <python@pythonlabs.com> so we can remove them!)
64-bit platforms: The modules audioop, imageop and rgbimg don't work.
Don't try to enable them in the Modules/Setup file. They
contain code that is quite wordsize sensitive. (If you have a
fix, let me know!)
fix, let us know!)
Solaris: When using Sun's C compiler with threads, at least on Solaris
2.5.1, you need to add the "-mt" compiler option (the simplest
@ -273,14 +283,14 @@ AIX: A complete overhaul of the shared library support is now in
HP-UX: Please read the file Misc/HPUX-NOTES for shared libraries.
When using threading, you may have to add -D_REENTRANT to the
OPT variable in the top-level Makefile; reported by Pat Knight
OPT variable in the top-level Makefile; reported by Pat Knight,
this seems to make a difference (at least for HP-UX 10.20)
even though config.h defines it.
Minix: When using ack, use "CC=cc AR=aal RANLIB=: ./configure"!
SCO: The following only apply to SCO 3; Python builds out of the box
on SCO 5 (or so I've heard).
SCO: The following apply to SCO 3 only; Python builds out of the box
on SCO 5 (or so we've heard).
1) Everything works much better if you add -U__STDC__ to the
defs. This is because all the SCO header files are broken.
@ -369,9 +379,9 @@ OS/2: If you are running Warp3 or Warp4 and have IBM's VisualAge C/C++
Monterey (64-bit AIX):
The current Monterey C compiler (Visual Age) uses the OBJECT_MODE={32|64}
environment variable to set the compilation mode to either 32-bit or
64-bit (32-bit mode is the default). Presumably you want 64-bit
compilation mode for this 64-bit OS. As a result you must first set
OBJECT_MODE=64 in you environment before configuring (./configure) or
64-bit (32-bit mode is the default). Presumably you want 64-bit
compilation mode for this 64-bit OS. As a result you must first set
OBJECT_MODE=64 in your environment before configuring (./configure) or
building (make) Python on Monterey.
@ -383,11 +393,11 @@ compile without threads, or if your thread support is broken, pass the
--with-threads=no switch to configure. Unfortunately, on some
platforms, additional compiler and/or linker options are required for
threads to work properly. Below is a table of those options,
collected by Bill Janssen. I would love to automate this process
collected by Bill Janssen. We would love to automate this process
more, but the information below is not enough to write a patch for the
configure.in file, so manual intervention is required. If you patch
the configure.in file and are confident that the patch works, please
send me the patch. (Don't bother patching the configure script itself
send in the patch. (Don't bother patching the configure script itself
-- it is regenerated each the configure.in file changes.)
Compiler switches for threads
@ -435,15 +445,15 @@ Configuring additional built-in modules
---------------------------------------
You can configure the interpreter to contain fewer or more built-in
modules by editing the file Modules/Setup. This file is initially
modules by editing the Modules/Setup file. This file is initially
copied (when the toplevel Makefile makes Modules/Makefile for the
first time) from Setup.in; if it does not exist yet, make a copy
yourself. Never edit Setup.in -- always edit Setup. Read the
comments in the file for information on what kind of edits you can
make. When you have edited Setup, Makefile and config.c in Modules
will automatically be rebuilt the next time you run make in the
toplevel directory. (When working inside the Modules directory, use
"make Makefile; make".)
comments in the file for information on what kind of edits are
allowed. When you have edited Setup, Makefile and config.c in the
Modules directory, the interpreter will automatically be rebuilt the
next time you run make in the toplevel directory. (When working
inside the Modules directory, use "make Makefile; make".)
The default collection of modules should build on any Unix system, but
many optional modules should work on all modern Unices (e.g. try dbm,
@ -480,21 +490,21 @@ set of libraries to link with).
Testing
-------
To test the interpreter that you have just built, type "make test".
To test the interpreter, type "make test" in the top-level directory.
This runs the test set twice (once with no compiled files, once with
the compiled files left by the previous test run). The test set
produces some output. You can generally ignore the messages about
skipped tests due to an optional feature that can't be imported (if
you want to test those modules, edit Modules/Setup to configure them).
If a messages is printed about a failed test or a traceback or core
dump is produced, something's wrong. On some Linux systems (those
skipped tests due to optional features which can't be imported. (If
you want to test those modules, edit Modules/Setup to configure them.)
If a message is printed about a failed test or a traceback or core
dump is produced, something is wrong. On some Linux systems (those
that are not yet using glibc 6), test_strftime fails due to a
non-standard-compliant implementation of strftime() in the C library.
Please ignore this, or upgrade to glibc version 6.
non-standard implementation of strftime() in the C library. Please
ignore this, or upgrade to glibc version 6.
IMPORTANT: If the tests fail and you decide to mail a bug report,
*don't* include the output of "make test". It is useless. Run the
test that fails manually, as follows:
failing test manually, as follows:
python ../Lib/test/test_whatever.py
@ -511,12 +521,12 @@ just type
make install
This will install all platform-independent files in subdirectories the
directory given with the --prefix option to configure or the 'prefix'
Make variable (default /usr/local), and all binary and other
platform-specific files in subdirectories if the directory given by
--exec-prefix or the 'exec_prefix' Make variable (defaults to the
--prefix directory).
This will install all platform-independent files in subdirectories of
the directory given with the --prefix option to configure or to the
`prefix' Make variable (default /usr/local). All binary and other
platform-specific files will be installed in subdirectories if the
directory given by --exec-prefix or the `exec_prefix' Make variable
(defaults to the --prefix directory) is given.
All subdirectories created will have Python's version number in their
name, e.g. the library modules are installed in
@ -535,10 +545,9 @@ doesn't create the hard link to "python2.0" named "python" and it
doesn't install the manual page at all.
The only thing you may have to install manually is the Python mode for
Emacs. (But then again, more recent versions of Emacs may already
have it!) This is the file Misc/python-mode.el; follow the
instructions that came with Emacs for installation of site specific
files.
Emacs found in Misc/python-mode.el. (But then again, more recent
versions of Emacs may already have it.) Follow the instructions that
came with Emacs for installation of site-specific files.
Configuration options and variables
@ -574,7 +583,7 @@ Modules/getpath.o.
prefix=DIRECTORY (and/or exec_prefix=DIRECTORY) overrides the
prefix set at configuration time; this may be more convenient
than re-running the configure script if you change your mind
about the install prefix...
about the install prefix.
--with-readline: This option is no longer supported. To use GNU
readline, enable module "readline" in the Modules/Setup file.
@ -592,12 +601,12 @@ Modules/getpath.o.
supported by the "dl" library by Jack Jansen, which is
ftp'able from ftp://ftp.cwi.nl/pub/dynload/dl-1.6.tar.Z.
This is enabled (after you've ftp'ed and compiled the dl
library!) by passing --with-sgi-dl=DIRECTORY where DIRECTORY
library) by passing --with-sgi-dl=DIRECTORY where DIRECTORY
is the absolute pathname of the dl library. (Don't bother on
IRIX 5, it already has dynamic linking using SunOS style
shared libraries.) Support for this feature is deprecated.
--with-dl-dld: Dynamic loading of modules is rumoured to be supported
--with-dl-dld: Dynamic loading of modules is rumored to be supported
on some other systems: VAX (Ultrix), Sun3 (SunOS 3.4), Sequent
Symmetry (Dynix), and Atari ST. This is done using a
combination of the GNU dynamic loading package
@ -605,8 +614,8 @@ Modules/getpath.o.
emulation of the SGI dl library mentioned above (the emulation
can be found at
ftp://ftp.cwi.nl/pub/dynload/dld-3.2.3.tar.Z). To
enable this, ftp and compile both libraries, then call the
configure passing it the option
enable this, ftp and compile both libraries, then call
configure, passing it the option
--with-dl-dld=DL_DIRECTORY,DLD_DIRECTORY where DL_DIRECTORY is
the absolute pathname of the dl emulation library and
DLD_DIRECTORY is the absolute pathname of the GNU dld library.
@ -617,19 +626,19 @@ Modules/getpath.o.
--with-libm, --with-libc: It is possible to specify alternative
versions for the Math library (default -lm) and the C library
(default the empty string) using the options
--with-libm=STRING and --with-libc=STRING, respectively. E.g.
if your system requires that you pass -lc_s to the C compiler
to use the shared C library, you can pass --with-libc=-lc_s.
These libraries are passed after all other libraries, the C
library last.
--with-libm=STRING and --with-libc=STRING, respectively. For
example, if your system requires that you pass -lc_s to the C
compiler to use the shared C library, you can pass
--with-libc=-lc_s. These libraries are passed after all other
libraries, the C library last.
--with-next-archs='arch1 arch2': Under NEXTSTEP, this will build
all compiled binaries with the architectures listed. Includes
correctly setting the target architecture specific resource
all compiled binaries with the architectures listed. This will
also correctly set the target architecture-specific resource
directory. (This option is not supported on other platforms.)
--with-libs='libs': Add 'libs' to the LIBS that the python
linked against.
--with-libs='libs': Add 'libs' to the LIBS that the python interpreter
is linked against.
Building for multiple architectures (using the VPATH feature)
@ -642,7 +651,7 @@ VPATH feature, you can create an empty build directory for each
architecture, and in each directory run the configure script (on the
appropriate machine with the appropriate options). This creates the
necessary subdirectories and the Makefiles therein. The Makefiles
contain a line VPATH=... which points to directory containing the
contain a line VPATH=... which points to a directory containing the
actual sources. (On SGI systems, use "smake -J1" instead of "make" if
you use VPATH -- don't try gnumake.)
@ -688,7 +697,7 @@ development, join the PythonMac Special Interest Group
pythonmac-sig-request@python.org).
Of course, there are also binary distributions available for these
platforms -- see http://www.pythonlabs.com/downloads.html
platforms -- see http://www.pythonlabs.com/downloads.html.
To port Python to a new non-UNIX system, you will have to fake the
effect of running the configure script manually (for Mac and PC, this
@ -709,7 +718,8 @@ Emacs mode
There's an excellent Emacs editing mode for Python code; see the file
Misc/python-mode.el. Originally written by the famous Tim Peters, it
is now maintained by the equally famous Barry Warsaw. The latest
is now maintained by the equally famous Barry Warsaw (it's no
coincidence that they now both work at PythonLabs). The latest
version, along with various other contributed Python-related Emacs
goodies, is online at <http://www.python.org/emacs/python-mode>. And
if you are planning to edit the Python C code, please pick up the
@ -725,17 +735,17 @@ The Tk interface
Tk (the user interface component of John Ousterhout's Tcl language) is
also usable from Python. Since this requires that you first build and
install Tcl/Tk, the Tk interface is not enabled by default. Python
supports Tcl/Tk starting with version 8.0.
supports Tcl/Tk version 8.0 and higher.
See http://dev.ajubasolutions.com/ for more info on Tcl/Tk, including
the on-line manual pages.
To enable the Python/Tk interface, once you've built and installed
Tcl/Tk, load the file Modules/Setup in your favorite text editor and
Tcl/Tk, load the file Modules/Setup into your favorite text editor and
search for the string "_tkinter". Then follow the instructions found
there. If you have installed Tcl/Tk or X11 in unusual places, you
will have to edit the first line to fix or add -I and -L options.
will have to edit the first line to fix or add the -I and -L options.
(Also see the general instructions at the top of that file.)
For more Tkinter information, see the Tkinter Resource page:
@ -748,8 +758,8 @@ overhauled to use more recent Tkinter coding conventions).
Note that there's a Python module called "Tkinter" (capital T) which
lives in Lib/lib-tk/Tkinter.py, and a C module called "_tkinter"
(lower case t and leading underscore) which lives in
Modules/_tkinter.c. Demos and normal Tk applications only import the
Python Tkinter module -- only the latter uses the C _tkinter module
Modules/_tkinter.c. Demos and normal Tk applications import only the
Python Tkinter module -- the latter uses the C _tkinter module
directly. In order to find the C _tkinter module, it must be compiled
and linked into the Python interpreter -- the _tkinter line in the
Setup file does this. In order to find the Python Tkinter module,
@ -763,7 +773,7 @@ or set $PYTHONPATH for the Python Tkinter module.)
Distribution structure
----------------------
Most subdirectories have their own README file. Most files have
Most subdirectories have their own README files. Most files have
comments.
.cvsignore Additional filename matching patterns for CVS to ignore
@ -774,14 +784,14 @@ Grammar/ Input for the parser generator
Include/ Public header files
LICENSE Licensing information
Lib/ Python library modules
Makefile.in Source from which config.status creates Makefile
Makefile.in Source from which config.status creates the Makefile
Misc/ Miscellaneous useful files
Modules/ Implementation of most built-in modules
Objects/ Implementation of most built-in object types
PC/ Files specific to PC ports (DOS, Windows, OS/2)
PCbuild/ Build directory for Microsoft Visual C++
Parser/ The parser and tokenizer and their input handling
Python/ The "compiler" and interpreter
Python/ The byte-compiler and interpreter
README The file you're reading now
Tools/ Some useful programs written in Python
acconfig.h Additional input for the GNU autoheader program
@ -798,7 +808,7 @@ buildno Keeps track of the build number
config.cache Cache of configuration variables
config.h Configuration header
config.log Log from last configure run
config.status Status from last run of configure script
config.status Status from last run of the configure script
getbuildinfo.o Object file from Modules/getbuildinfo.c
libpython2.0.a The library archive
python The executable interpreter