[Visualpython-users] Getting current visual python to use Numpy

[David H. <dha...@ta...>]

We just upgraded some of our linux machines to Red Hat enterprise 4
and I was going through the exercise of updating visual python.  I had
a very bad experience installing the software initially a couple of
months ago and I was hoping to see some improvement.

Unfortunately, it seems the installation experience is still very poor.
Probably the number one issue is the Numpy vs. (Numeric or Numarray)
issue.  Although the config and installation instructions say you
should use Numeric or Numarray, neither of these software packages
are supported anymore.  Downloading and installing the currently
supported software, Numpy, does not work with the current visual
python setup.

The claim from the Numpy author is that that its interface is
close but not fully compatible.  So, just how bad would it be
to update the current 3.2.9 so that it could use the Numpy
interface?  Is this a huge amount of work or a small amount?
If it is small, I might take a whack at it.  Just moving that one
step forward would help.

That still leaves the hugely awful BLAS, etc stuff.  But at least
for this round, I decided not to bother with it and let it use
the slower defaults.

       David