[wingide-users] More Windows problems, cannot find Python

On Tue, Jun 12, 2001 at 05:13:01PM -0400, Stephan R.A. Deibel wrote:
> On Tue, 12 Jun 2001, Martijn Pieters wrote:
> > Like Nelson Checkin, my installation of Wing 1.1b5 (with all the patches)
> > cannot find Python. Unlike Nelson however, specifying the python
> > interpreter explicitly does not remedy the problem.
> > 
> > My setup:
> > 
> > - Win98SE
> > - ActiveState Python 2.1 build 210
> > 
> > I also cleaned out all remnants of a ActiveState Python 2.0 setup (removed
> > all references to it from the registry).
> > 
> > I tried to set the Python executable in both the Project preferences
> > screen and the preferences file (debug.python-exec) with no success. The
> > interactive shell and expression evaluator keep stating that there is no
> > debug program.
> 
> Are you using this as your symptom that Wing is not finding Python? The
> expression evaluator and interactive shell currently only function if
> you've got an active debug session and you're stopped somewhere in the
> program (rather than free-running). They do their work in the context of
> the current stack frame, as selected in the main debugger window.  Yes, we
> need to change this so they also work when you're not running your debug
> program, using just a blank python shell as the execution/evaluation
> context, but in any case this is unrelated to whether or not Python is
> being found.

Okay, I indeed realised this when I ran into the same problems on Linux; I
had this figured out later on. 'Debug program' in this case is the source
file to work on.

> What does it say when you bring up the Analysis Stats window from the
> Source menu?  The 'interpreter' line lists what python is being used and
> should indicate whether or not it's found.

When starting up afresh, it shows '<not found>'. If I set the project
preferences to point at the correct python executable
(c:\python21\python.exe in my case), it states that path.

> Also, is it still displaying a dialog at startup that Python could not
> be found or did that go away once you set a valid Python using the
> Project preferences (it should go away at that point)?

I indeed do no longer get that message.

> Note that 1.1b5 still includes a bug where some internal tests think a
> valid Python is not valid... so even if it says "not found" there, you may
> want to just try starting a debug session as the real test of whether
> Python is being found.  If that works, then things are working (and so
> will source code analysis) even tho some indicators make it sound like
> Python is not being found.
> 
> Sorry for all the confusion... it sounds like this should be simple but
> it's been quite a challenge to get our interaction with the external
> Python interpreter to work right on Windows.

Isn't the Win32 platform wonderful. ;)

> > Should I leave 1.1b5 for now and go with 1.0 instead? I'd like to use
> > Python 2.1 if at all possible. I'll try the Linux version in the meantime
> > as well.
> 
> 1.0 is only for Linux.  1.1b5 on Linux has fewer problems than the Windows
> version.  1.1b6 should be out in about a week, and contains some
> additional fixes for the not-finding-python confusion that we couldn't 
> issue as patches.  Whether it will fix all the problems remains to be
> seen of course.

I'll stick with Linux for now because:

- I cannot debug project files on the network without mapping to a drive
  letter. This is a shortcoming of the windows command line, it won't let
  you work with a \\machine\share path.

- Many actions in the windows interface are very very slow; it seems to
  come up with a 'Bad command or filename' error on the console every time
  I issue a command. The GUI freezes for a few seconds before continueing.

Thanks!

-- 
Martijn Pieters
| Software Engineer  mailto:mj@digicool.com
| Digital Creations  http://www.digicool.com/
| Creators of Zope   http://www.zope.org/
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