visualpython-users

[Visualpython-users] Special Request

[Jonathan D A. <jd...@an...>]

I have access to a few SGI machines running IRIX.  My problem is the owner
of these machines has decided to purchase MAYA instead of a compiler.  I
was wondering if anyone would create a IRIX build of Python and its
wonderful Visual counterpart.

Thank you,
Jonathan Anderson  

Re: [Visualpython-users] vpython installer

[Bruce S. <ba...@an...>]

--On Friday, February 02, 2001 5:54 PM +0100 Markus Gritsch 
<gr...@iu...> wrote:

> But I think there must be a way to generate some easy to use graphical
> installers. Recently I installed PyOpenGL
> (http://pyopengl.sourceforge.net/) and py2exe
> (http://starship.python.net/crew/theller/py2exe/) and both installers
> claim, "Build with distutils-1.0.1". The Registry is searched, and if
> multiple Python installations are found, one can select the desired one.
> All with an easy to use GUI.

Thanks for the note, Markus. My negative comment about distutils was based 
on the standard installer for the Numeric module, and I'm happy to learn 
that it doesn't have to be like that.

I have been the one producing installation packages, and this spring I am 
utterly consumed rewriting a physics textbook for publication this summer. 
So I can't learn yet another set of tools at this time. If someone in the 
VPython community can learn enough about distutils to create something 
which I could then just modify slightly and maintain, I'd be happy to use 
distutils, since it sounds like it could provide more flexibility than I 
have with Inno Setup.

Presumably it would still be the case that one would have to install Python 
first? That a distutil-based installer is a Python program?

Bruce

[Visualpython-users] vpython installer

[Markus G. <gr...@iu...>]

Hi!

Some weeks ago there was a question on this list how to make the
installation of VPython on Windows easier, using an installer without the
need of extracting a ZIP archive to the correct location.  I suggested
having a look at the distutils, but got only negative feedback, because of
the weird command-line nature of this mechanism.

But I think there must be a way to generate some easy to use graphical
installers. Recently I installed PyOpenGL (http://pyopengl.sourceforge.net/)
and py2exe (http://starship.python.net/crew/theller/py2exe/) and both
installers claim, "Build with distutils-1.0.1". The Registry is searched,
and if multiple Python installations are found, one can select the desired
one. All with an easy to use GUI.

This should be no criticism but only a hint.

Kind regards, Markus

[Visualpython-users] New Linux version

[Ari H. <ahe...@an...>]

Hi everyone,

I've put up debs and rpm's of the new Linux version (with full labal/graph
support) up at the VPython web page
(http://virtualphoton.pc.cc.cmu.edu/projects/visual).

There are a couple of bugs still in the Linux version, which I've noted on
the download page.

Please do post your experiences, positive and negative, to the list.

Non-debian users, you will likely need to play the usual games -- install
the RPMs, then recompile cvisualmodule.so with the CVS source to get things
working.



ari

Re: [Visualpython-users] Compilation on FreeBSD

[Ari H. <ahe...@an...>]

On Wed, Jan 31, 2001 at 12:15:26AM -0800, David P. Reese Jr. wrote:
> How platform independent is the code base of visual python?  I managed to

Um. As far as I know Linux is the only Unix we've got it working under (one
of these days I'll give Solaris a try). But considering that it runs on
Windows and Mac as well ... I'd call it pretty bloody platform independent
:)

> get it to compile on FreeBSD Release 4.1, but when i try to run something
> that uses the visual python modules, i get the following:
> 
> Traceback (innermost last):
>   File "bounce.py", line 1, in ?
>     from visual import *
>   File "/usr/local/lib/python1.5/site-packages/visual/__init__.py", line 16, in ?
>     import cvisual
> ImportError: /usr/local/lib/python1.5/site-packages/cvisualmodule.so:
> Undefined symbol "__get_eh_context"
> 
Try doing a 'ldd /usr/local/lib/python1.5/site-packages/cvisualmodule.so'
and seeing if ld is finding all of the libraries it thinks cvisualmodule.so is
linked against.

Considering that you *compiled* it, that means the linker *can* find all the
symbols. So it's probably something dumb like a library path setting or
somesuch.

I'm vaguely inclined to think that symbols looks like a python internal
symbol. Finding where it lives means doing an 'nm | grep __get_eh_context'
on *everything* cvisualmodule.so is linked against, however ... (i guess
it's not really that bad. i'll poke around and try to find it later if
you're still having trouble).





ari

[Visualpython-users] Compilation on FreeBSD

[David P. R. Jr. <da...@go...>]

How platform independent is the code base of visual python?  I managed to get
it to compile on FreeBSD Release 4.1, but when i try to run something that uses
the visual python modules, i get the following:

Traceback (innermost last):
  File "bounce.py", line 1, in ?
    from visual import *
  File "/usr/local/lib/python1.5/site-packages/visual/__init__.py", line 16, in ?
    import cvisual
ImportError: /usr/local/lib/python1.5/site-packages/cvisualmodule.so: Undefined symbol "__get_eh_context"

Has anyone even tried to get this running on FreeBSD?

-- 
    David P. Reese Jr.                       http://www.gomerbud.com/daver/
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    GPG Key:                      http://www.gomerbud.com/daver/gpg_key.asc
    Key fingerprint:     5D3F CC25 3C36 79DE C725  41F7 A3B1 13B9 5BC0 D39E
    da...@go...   -   gom...@du...   -   dp...@ca...

    It is simple, and therefore it is beautiful.      -- Richard P. Feynman

Re: [Visualpython-users] VPython and Stackless Python Compatability

[Ari H. <ahe...@an...>]

On Tue, Jan 23, 2001 at 01:49:37PM -0600, Keen Wayne A Contr AFRL/MNGG wrote:
> Quick question.  Is VPython compatable with the stackless implementation
> 

Not as far as I know.

Why would you want it to be?



ari

[Visualpython-users] VPython and Stackless Python Compatability

[Keen W. A C. AFRL/M. <ke...@eg...>]

Quick question.  Is VPython compatable with the stackless implementation

dockeen

Re: [Visualpython-users] Visual Python Linux install problems (fwd)

[Ari H. <ahe...@an...>]

On Mon, Jan 22, 2001 at 11:08:23PM -0500, Bruce Sherwood wrote:
> A new user sent this to me. Can anyone offer advice that I could pass on? 
> (He first uninstalled Python 1.5.2 and installed Python 2.0, because the 
> VPython web site led him to believe that he needed to do this. I've changed 
> the wording on the Linux download page to make it clear that we don't have 
> a Python 2.0 version yet, though it is being worked on.)
> 
> > I re-installed Python 1.5.2 and went ahead and tried installing VP on
> > linux  (mandrake 7.0) and it had trouble finding the Numeric module, even
> > though I  had just installed it.  Do I need to rebuild 1.5.2 from source
> > with the  numeric module included?
> >

Um, no. The C++ source doesn't depend on any numeric libraries.

Your installation of numeric is probably not correct. If you start up python
(should be python 1.5.2), and do an 'import Numeric', does it work?

In general in reporting error messages, text descriptions are *useless*
without *exact* error messages. This should have been accompanied by a trace
of Python/Visual starting up and showing the problem.



ari


Bruce: why don't you put the list address on the VPython homepage? People
should be mailing this list as a first resource, rather than you. Also, you
could link to the sourceforge list archives.

[Visualpython-users] Antigen forwarded attachment

[<ANT...@hs...>]

Enclosed is your original file attachment from the message "[Edu-sig]
KineticsKit - A Physics-Based General 3D Mass-Spring System"
sent to you by Markus Gritsch (gr...@iu...).

[Visualpython-users] Visual Python Linux install problems (fwd)

[Bruce S. <ba...@an...>]

A new user sent this to me. Can anyone offer advice that I could pass on? 
(He first uninstalled Python 1.5.2 and installed Python 2.0, because the 
VPython web site led him to believe that he needed to do this. I've changed 
the wording on the Linux download page to make it clear that we don't have 
a Python 2.0 version yet, though it is being worked on.)

> I re-installed Python 1.5.2 and went ahead and tried installing VP on
> linux  (mandrake 7.0) and it had trouble finding the Numeric module, even
> though I  had just installed it.  Do I need to rebuild 1.5.2 from source
> with the  numeric module included?
>
> or
>
> should I install Python 2.0, Numeric, build it from source, and then put
> on  VP?  I would like to use 2.0 but want to know if it is even going to
> work. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Re: [Visualpython-users] Running Visual on Linux respectively Windows is not the same

[Ari H. <ahe...@an...>]

On Thu, Jan 18, 2001 at 05:16:07PM +0100, Nils Wagner wrote:
> Ari Heitner schrieb:
> > And currently the graph stuff is a little broken because it's using python2
> > syntax. But Bruce just fixed that (and I'll release a new linux version one
> > of these days here).
> 
> Please send me a short note as soon as the linux version is available.

I'll post to this list :) if i remember ...

> Is your linux version of Vpython for the Red Hat distribution ?
> 

I build a redhat package. But I build it on a debian system, so the library
versions (especially libstdc++, which seems to have version changes every
other day) frequently mismatch across distributions. So you may have to
rebuild the cvisualmodule.so ... 



ari

Re: [Visualpython-users] Running Visual on Linux respectively Windows is not the same

[Ari H. <ahe...@an...>]

On Thu, Jan 18, 2001 at 10:37:06AM +0100, Nils Wagner wrote:
> 
> Please can you expand on the differences between Visual on Linux and
> Visual on Windows.
> I use Python2.0 and the latest development version of Vpython on Linux.
> 

They're the same.

Except for some occasional buggy behaviour on linux :)

- there is at least one bug we see where visual crashes on wave.py (and a
  few other demos), that appears to be a GL bug (it crashes in a GL
  linedrawing function)
- there is some weird interface behaviour with multiple windows (things
  respond very slowly to user input).

And currently the graph stuff is a little broken because it's using python2
syntax. But Bruce just fixed that (and I'll release a new linux version one
of these days here).

But codewise, the Linux version is identical (modulo necessary
cross-platform abstractions).



ari

 

Re: [Visualpython-users] Running Visual on Linux respectively Windows is not the same

[Bruce S. <ba...@an...>]

--On Thursday, January 18, 2001 10:37 AM +0100 Nils Wagner 
<nw...@is...> wrote:

> Please can you expand on the differences between Visual on Linux and
> Visual on Windows.
> I use Python2.0 and the latest development version of Vpython on Linux.

With respect to this question, what is on the VPython web site 
(http://cil.andrew.cmu.edu/projects/visual) is this:

Windows: A package to add to regular Windows Python 2.0. This is our most 
up-to-date package.

Linux: Packages for Linux Python 1.5. This doesn't include some important 
developments in the Visual module and in graph.py (for graphing functions). 
In particular, the label object is not implemented, so some recent demos 
don't work.

However, Ari Heitner has recently implemented the label object on Linux 
Python 2.0 and is also working on pulling together all the related pieces 
(such as Numeric, upon which the Visual module depends). He hopes to have a 
complete coherent package very soon that will bring the Visual module up to 
date with the Windows version.

Ari, please comment if I have misrepresented the issues!

Bruce Sherwood

P.S. For completeness, here is the situation on the Mac: The package on the 
VPython web site is up to date in terms of Visual syntax (for example, it 
includes the label object, and all the standard demos work). It does not 
include the nice version of Idle available in our Windows package. David 
Andersen is working on the Idle problem.

[Visualpython-users] Running Visual on Linux respectively Windows is not the same

[Nils W. <nw...@is...>]

Hi,

Please can you expand on the differences between Visual on Linux and
Visual on Windows.
I use Python2.0 and the latest development version of Vpython on Linux.

Thanks.

                     Nils

[Visualpython-users] linetemp.h

[Nils W. <wag...@ho...>]

Hi,

Please can you help me with the attached messages

wagner@moritz:~ > gdb python2.0
GNU gdb 4.18
Copyright 1998 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
GDB is free software, covered by the GNU General Public License, and you are
welcome to change it and/or distribute copies of it under certain 
conditions.
Type "show copying" to see the conditions.
There is absolutely no warranty for GDB.  Type "show warranty" for details.
This GDB was configured as "i386-suse-linux"...
(gdb) run
Starting program: /usr/local/bin/python2.0
Python 2.0 (#1, Oct 16 2000, 18:10:03)
[GCC 2.95.2 19991024 (release)] on linux2
Type "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>>import beam20.py
Visual-2000-11-26
WARNING: Python C API version mismatch for module cvisual:
  This Python has API version 1009, module cvisual has version 1007.
2.0
Eigenwerte
[  5.01113091e-02   3.83395753e-01   1.50249932e+00   4.17060668e+00
        1.17572373e+01   2.60501596e+01   5.67453760e+01   1.13553714e+02]
[New Thread 1228 (manager thread)]
[New Thread 1227 (initial thread)]
[New Thread 1229]
WARNING: This Mesa Library includes the Glide driver but
         you have not defined the MESA_GLX_FX env. var.
         (check the README.3DFX file for more information).

         you can disable this message with a 'export MESA_GLX_FX=disable'.
[Switching to Thread 1229]

Program received signal SIGSEGV, Segmentation fault.
0x4068921e in smooth_rgba_z_line (ctx=Cannot access memory at address 
0x3d056.
) at linetemp.h:516
516     linetemp.h: Datei oder Verzeichnis nicht gefunden.
(gdb) backtrace
#0  0x4068921e in smooth_rgba_z_line (ctx=
Cannot access memory at address 0x3d056.
) at linetemp.h:516
#1  0x407c01d4 in __DTOR_END__ () from /usr/lib/libGL.so.1
Cannot access memory at address 0x3cf96.
(gdb)

Thanks.

                Nils


_________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

Re: [Visualpython-users] Vpython installation defaults toC:\VPython

[Markus G. <gr...@iu...>]

> --On Tuesday, January 16, 2001 3:00 PM +0800 LUK ShunTim
> <ce...@po...> wrote:
>
> > It appears that the self-installing Win32 version VPython-2001-01-15.exe
> > installes to C:\VPython by deafult. (It did nod ask for ainstead of to
> > my python directory which is at e:\py. Is this the default behaviour of
> > have I missed something?
> > I'm using the ActivePython distribution from ActiveState.

I am also using ActivePython, and everything went fine. maybe a previous
BeOpen Python installation is lurking around in your Registry?

Markus

[Visualpython-users] New graph.py

[Bruce S. <ba...@an...>]

There is a new graph.py on sourceforge.net and in the VPython and Visual 
downloads on the Windows download page of the VPython web site.

This is relevant to those running Visual on Linux, using a version of 
Python earlier than 2.0. The new graph.py eliminates a minor use of some 
syntax that is specific to Python 2.0.

Bruce Sherwood

Re: [Visualpython-users] Vpython installation defaults to C:\VPython

[Bruce S. <ba...@an...>]

--On Tuesday, January 16, 2001 3:00 PM +0800 LUK ShunTim 
<ce...@po...> wrote:

> It appears that the self-installing Win32 version VPython-2001-01-15.exe
> installes to C:\VPython by deafult. (It did nod ask for ainstead of to
> my python directory which is at e:\py. Is this the default behaviour of
> have I missed something?
> I'm using the ActivePython distribution from ActiveState.
>
> While the files can be moved manually, maybe it can (also) be
> distributed as a zipped archive so that it can be unzipped under the
> appropriate python root.

Thank you for the report. I have added the following comment on the Windows 
download page:

(If you installed a version of Python 2.0 other than the one listed above, 
the VPython installer may install files into a folder on the system drive 
named "VPython". Move these files into your Python folder. The reason for 
this behavior is explained in the FAQ section.)

I have also added the following note to the FAQ:

When we gave such a choice in the past, we found that novice users 
frequently installed Python into an odd location and then installed the 
VPython components into a different folder, so that VPython wouldn't run. 
Now, if the novice installs the standard Python 2.0, the VPython installer 
automatically determines the Python folder location by reading information 
in the Windows registry. This is a much safer scheme for the novice. If you 
have installed some other version of Python 2.0, the VPython installer may 
not be able to find Python and will then install into a "VPython" folder on 
the system drive (typically C:\). After installing, simply move the files 
in that folder into the Python folder.

---------------------------------
Additional comment: It is advantageous to have Visual (VPython) separate 
from Python itself. But when we tried to have novices add VPython using a 
zip file, mistakes were very frequent. There is a conflict between making 
installation fool-proof for most novices and especially convenient for 
experts (and/or a minority of users who have installed some other flavor of 
Python). We consider the former goal more important than the latter.

With the installer I'm using (Inno Setup), there doesn't seem to be a way 
to detect that Python couldn't be found and then (only) in that case ask 
for the Python folder. But I'm certainly open to suggestions for 
improvements.

Bruce Sherwood

[Visualpython-users] Vpython installation defaults to C:\VPython

[LUK S. <ce...@po...>]

Dear vpython users,

It appears that the self-installing Win32 version VPython-2001-01-15.exe
installes to C:\VPython by deafult. (It did nod ask for ainstead of to
my python directory which is at e:\py. Is this the default behaviour of
have I missed something? 
I'm using the ActivePython distribution from ActiveState.

While the files can be moved manually, maybe it can (also) be
distributed as a zipped archive so that it can be unzipped under the
appropriate python root.

Regards,
ST 
--

[Visualpython-users] New graph.py

[Bruce S. <ba...@an...>]

At http://cil.andrew.cmu.edu/projects/visual (and at sourceforge.net in the 
visualpython project) there is a new version of Python20/visual/graph.py. 
One of the ways to pick it up is the zip file for Visual on the Windows 
download page.

The change is to put gcurve and gdots slightly in front of the axes, to 
make visible a function that happens to be zero.

Bruce Sherwood

[Visualpython-users] Re: Syntax error in graph.py

[Ari H. <ahe...@an...>]

On Sat, Jan 13, 2001 at 07:24:00PM -0000, Nils Wagner wrote:
> 
> wagner@moritz:~ > python
> Python 1.5.2 (#1, Jul 29 2000, 14:28:37)  [GCC 2.95.2 19991024 (release)] on 
> linux2
> Copyright 1991-1995 Stichting Mathematisch Centrum, Amsterdam
> >>>from visual import *
> Visual-2000-11-26
> >>>from visual.graph import *
> Traceback (innermost last):
>   File "<stdin>", line 1, in ?
>   File "/usr/lib/python1.5/site-packages/visual/graph.py", line 539
>     gvbars.__init__(self, **args)
>                            ^
> SyntaxError: invalid syntax
> >>>
> 

Yeah. this is because Visual is trying to use python2 syntax (which is
illegal under python 1.5).

I discussed this a bit earlier (in fact in response to your question earlier
this month).

Hopefully I'll have a python2 package in a couple of days, actually.

Till then, the graphing stuff won't work right, I'm afraid.



Ari

PS: please post questions like this to the visualpython-users list, so that
people other than me get a chance to respond to this too (takes a lot of
load off me).

Re: [Visualpython-users] webpage for KineticsKit

[Bruce S. <ba...@an...>]

--On Saturday, January 13, 2001 4:21 PM +0100 Markus Gritsch 
<gr...@iu...> wrote:

> I've put together a litte webpage for KineticsKit. KineticsKit can now be
> downloaded from this address:
>
> http://stud4.tuwien.ac.at/~e9326522/KineticsKit/

I've added this link to the "Other Links" section of the VPython web site. 
Thanks, Markus!

Bruce Sherwood

[Visualpython-users] Re: [Edu-sig] webpage for KineticsKit

[Fred Y. <fr...@on...>]

Markus,

Your kinetics examples are very cool.  I'm amazed by what VPython can
do, and your examples make good use of VPython's features.

To get the "lattice" example to work I had to un-comment-out the
mainloop() call at the end.  That example is simply amazing, but it
also manages to use every available cycle on my dual-800 NT system.

I'm glad that the VPython team has made VPython so easy to install now
as an add-on to Python 2.0.

On Sat, Jan 13, 2001 at 04:21:00PM +0100, Markus Gritsch wrote:
> I've put together a litte webpage for KineticsKit. KineticsKit can now be
> downloaded from this address:
> 
> http://stud4.tuwien.ac.at/~e9326522/KineticsKit/

-- 
Fred Yankowski           fr...@On...      tel: +1.630.879.1312
Principal Consultant     www.OntoSys.com       fax: +1.630.879.1370
OntoSys, Inc             38W242 Deerpath Rd, Batavia, IL 60510, USA

[Visualpython-users] webpage for KineticsKit

[Markus G. <gr...@iu...>]

Hi!

I've put together a litte webpage for KineticsKit. KineticsKit can now be
downloaded from this address:

http://stud4.tuwien.ac.at/~e9326522/KineticsKit/

Code enhancements:
    Added a second visual representation of a spring (double-helix),
    made a small modification to the spring constructor,
    added another example (picture of it can be seen at the top of the
webpage).

enjoy, Markus