Re: [Visualpython-users] Python 2.5

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

If I remember correctly, I found that some example programs that do 
explicit numeric operations such as stars.py and gas.py did not in fact 
work with numarray, due to some changes in external syntax (thought it's 
possible that only minor changes would have been necessary). 
Unfortunately, when I tried just now to check this memory, I find to my 
surprise that if I install VPython (either version 3 or 4) and elect 
during installation to install only numarray, not numeric, I can't run 
any programs (the error message is that the crayola module is missing).

I don't when this feature got broken. I tried 3.2.8 and 3.2.9 and the 
latest 4.

I'm the one who has been packaging the Windows distribution, and 
sometimes I've created the Linux package (which others then repackage 
for particular flavors of Linux). Martin Costabel has been making the 
fink packages for the Mac.

At the moment the Windows build wants both numeric and numarray to be 
already installed (no longer a possibility with Python 2.5) but then 
attempts to create an installer that allows the end user to choose 
(though clearly that feature is currently broken somehow).

Bruce

Arthur Siegel wrote:

>On Sat, 2006-10-07 at 16:14 -0600, Bruce Sherwood wrote:
>  
>
>>Just to try to keep the record straight: Isn't it the case that fink 
>>touches ONLY its own directory, /sw? I don't see how it can "corrupt" 
>>the system.
>>    
>>
>
>Also to keep the record straight - there is *no* incompatibility (of
>which I am aware) between Python2.5 and VPython built with either
>Numeric or numarray.
>
>The issue regarding numpy compatibility is significant since numpy is
>becoming the Python standard for multi-dimensional array processing, so
>that, for example, the lives of educational projects like courses such
>as:
>
>http://www.physics.cornell.edu/sethna/teaching/ComputationalMethods/index.html
>
>which use scipy (in which numpy is core) and which also use VPython are
>becoming more complicated than it might be.
>
>But to maintain perspective - the numpy issue is not an immediate
>crisis, provided that the maintainers of the Windows distro, the Debian
>distro, the fink distro, etc. proceed to make binary distributions
>against Python2.5 available.  So that maybe the short-term focus should
>be shifted there.  I am concerned about the perception regarding VPython
>should there be a significant delay in making Python2.5 binaries
>available, now that Python2.5 is itself final.
>
>I will see if I can figure out who might be appropriate to contact to
>urge that the ubuntu (debian based) distribution make a Python2.5
>package available.
>
>Bruce - 
>
>who has been doing the Windows distro??
>
>Mac - don't know.
>
>Art
>
>  
>