[Visualpython-users] VIDLE - alternative to IDLE

[Bruce S. <Bru...@nc...>]

Now available on the vpython.org home page is VIDLE, an alternative to 
IDLE.

VIDLE is a (hopefully temporary) fork of IDLE created in December 2008 
by VPython developer David Scherer, assisted by Bruce Sherwood. We hope 
that our bug fixes and interface improvements will someday again be 
integrated with the IDLE that ships with Python, as happened in 2000 
after Scherer's major restructuring of IDLE at that time. In the 
meantime we want to deliver the improvements to VPython users. We have 
changed the name because we don't want those responsible for maintaining 
the version of IDLE included with Python itself to be confused by 
questions about this version.

VIDLE is based on IDLE 1.2.2. VIDLE's source and version history 
beginning with a checkin of IDLE 1.2.2 can be found in VPython's CVS 
repository (vpython-core2/site-packages/vidle) on sourceforge (follow 
directions from www.vpython.org).

- fix: Unreliable and slow termination on Windows on a re-run.
- fix: Missing preferences and other menus on Macintosh.
- Use any port for RPC server, so multiple instances of VIDLE can run at 
the same time without interference.

Guilherme Polo is hoping to make many further improvements to IDLE, but 
we're providing VIDLE right away to address the most serious problems, 
listed above.

Bruce Sherwood