Jython

Hi,

I'm preparing my jython application for distribution, and I've run
into a couple of classpath-related quirks. I've got a workaround, but
I'm hoping someone can enlighten me about what's going on.

I looked at the Distributing Jython FAQ at:
http://wiki.python.org/jython/JythonFaq/DistributingJythonScripts, and
I'm trying to duplicate the suggested classpath method. To that end, I
installed the jython standalone jar, and then tried to run it at my
command line:

desktop:~/jython2.2.1Standalone> java -cp ./jython.jar org.python.util.jython
Jython 2.2.1 on java1.5.0_10
Type "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>>

So far, so good. But the first thing that surprised me was that even
though I've supplied the standalone jar as a java parameter, to get at
Java classes, I need to set the CLASSPATH environment to the same
jarfile. Either setting CLASSPATH in the shell and exporting it or
setting it in the interpreter works. I would have thought setting the
command line option would have been enough.

The second thing is that even with the CLASSPATH set, I still can't
import groups of javax.classes:

>>> import javax.swing
Traceback (innermost last):
  File "<console>", line 1, in ?
ImportError: no module named javax
>>>

But what I can do is import a specific class, and once I do that, I
can import groups of classes:

>>> import javax.swing.JFrame
>>> import javax.swing
>>>

I have the same problem with third party jar files, e.g. jdom.
Everything works fine when I use jython directly:

desktop:~/jython2.2.1Standalone> jython
*sys-package-mgr*: processing new jar,
'/home/pollyp/jython2.2.1Standalone/jython.jar'
Jython 2.2.1 on java1.5.0_10
Type "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import javax.swing
>>>

Any thoughts about why I'm seeing this behavior?

Many thanks,

Polly