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1. Using Python on the Macintosh

Using Python on the Macintosh can seem like something completely different than using it on a Unix-like or Windows system. Most of the Python documentation, both the ``official'' documentation and published books, describe only how Python is used on these systems, causing confusion for the new user of MacPython. This chapter gives a brief introduction to the specifics of using Python on a Macintosh.

Subsections

- 1.1 Getting and Installing MacPython
- 1.2 Entering the interactive Interpreter
- 1.3 How to run a Python script
  - 1.3.1 Drag and drop
  - 1.3.2 Set Creator and Double Click
- 1.4 Simulating command line arguments
- 1.5 Creating a Python script
  - 1.5.1 In an editor
    - 1.5.1.1 Editors with Python modes
    - 1.5.1.2 BBedit
- 1.6 The IDE
  - 1.6.1 Using the ``Python Interactive'' window
  - 1.6.2 Writing a Python Script
  - 1.6.3 Executing a script from within the IDE
  - 1.6.4 ``Save as'' versus ``Save as Applet''
- 1.7 Configuration
  - 1.7.1 EditPythonPrefs
  - 1.7.2 Adding modules to the Module Search Path
  - 1.7.3 Default startup options
- 1.8 Mac OS X