visualpython-users

Re: [Visualpython-users] Is there anyway to uninstall vPython?

[M H. <air...@ho...>]

I had at first tried it with lowercase 'b' on box and it kicked back the same error. As far as vPython for 32bit, I downloaded the 64bit version from the link provided on the vPython page. Maybe there is something wrong with prebuilt version of vPython for 64bit? I'd like to reinstall the 32bit version , but I'm unsure of what to delete from my Python libraries. It would appear that vPython installed into more directories than just the Lib/site-packages/visual and can even see references to other directories in the error message that I had previously posted, such as lib (with lowercase 'L'). I don't want to uninstall my Python distro either, as I had to pull teeth in order to install/build other libraries. Does anyone have any idea of how I can remove all vPython packages? Thanks...

> Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2012 12:10:52 -0700
> Subject: Re: [Visualpython-users] Is there anyway to uninstall vPython?
> From: kir...@gm...
> To: air...@ho...
> CC: vis...@li...
> 
> On Sun, Aug 26, 2012 at 11:48 AM, M Hartman <air...@ho...> wrote:
> > That's what I'm using is PyCharm and it seems to be so much better than
> > Eclipse/PyDev, at least for a beginner. Anyway, is that the whole library in
> > /Lib/site-packages/visual? Does it install anything somewhere else? Also, I
> > see the visual directory but for some reason, I cannot import anything from
> > this directory, as I get errors in PyCharms built-in console. This is the
> > particular error:
> >
> > Traceback (most recent call last):
> >   File "C:/Users/airspoon/PycharmProjects/goo/vis.py", line 1, in <module>
> >     from visual import *
> >   File "C:\Python32\lib\site-packages\visual\__init__.py", line 1, in
> > <module>
> >     from .visual_all import *
> >   File "C:\Python32\lib\site-packages\visual\visual_all.py", line 1, in
> > <module>
> >     from vis import version
> >   File "C:\Users\airspoon\PycharmProjects\goo\vis.py", line 3, in <module>
> >     floor = Box (pos=(0,0,0), length=4, height=0.5, width=4,
> > color=color.blue)
> > NameError: name 'Box' is not defined
> >
> >
> > This is what I get when I copy and paste the 'bouncing ball' example from
> > the vPython website. Isn't that telling me that it can't import anything
> > from the visual library?
> >
> > Thanks for the help
> >
> 
> In my version of bounce.py, Box is lowercase:
> 
> from visual import *
> 
> floor = box(length=4, height=0.5, width=4, color=color.blue)
> 
> ball = sphere(pos=(0,4,0), color=color.red)
> ball.velocity = vector(0,-1,0)
> 
> dt = 0.01
> while 1:
>     rate(100)
>     ball.pos = ball.pos + ball.velocity*dt
>     if ball.y < 1:
>         ball.velocity.y = -ball.velocity.y
>     else:
>         ball.velocity.y = ball.velocity.y - 9.8*dt
> 
> There is not Box I don't think:
> 
> >>> from visual import Box
> Traceback (most recent call last):
>   File "<pyshell#0>", line 1
>     from visual import Box
> ImportError: cannot import name Box
> 
> 
> Kirby
 		 	   		  

Re: [Visualpython-users] Is there anyway to uninstall vPython?

[kirby u. <kir...@gm...>]

On Sun, Aug 26, 2012 at 11:48 AM, M Hartman <air...@ho...> wrote:
> That's what I'm using is PyCharm and it seems to be so much better than
> Eclipse/PyDev, at least for a beginner. Anyway, is that the whole library in
> /Lib/site-packages/visual? Does it install anything somewhere else? Also, I
> see the visual directory but for some reason, I cannot import anything from
> this directory, as I get errors in PyCharms built-in console. This is the
> particular error:
>
> Traceback (most recent call last):
>   File "C:/Users/airspoon/PycharmProjects/goo/vis.py", line 1, in <module>
>     from visual import *
>   File "C:\Python32\lib\site-packages\visual\__init__.py", line 1, in
> <module>
>     from .visual_all import *
>   File "C:\Python32\lib\site-packages\visual\visual_all.py", line 1, in
> <module>
>     from vis import version
>   File "C:\Users\airspoon\PycharmProjects\goo\vis.py", line 3, in <module>
>     floor = Box (pos=(0,0,0), length=4, height=0.5, width=4,
> color=color.blue)
> NameError: name 'Box' is not defined
>
>
> This is what I get when I copy and paste the 'bouncing ball' example from
> the vPython website. Isn't that telling me that it can't import anything
> from the visual library?
>
> Thanks for the help
>

In my version of bounce.py, Box is lowercase:

from visual import *

floor = box(length=4, height=0.5, width=4, color=color.blue)

ball = sphere(pos=(0,4,0), color=color.red)
ball.velocity = vector(0,-1,0)

dt = 0.01
while 1:
    rate(100)
    ball.pos = ball.pos + ball.velocity*dt
    if ball.y < 1:
        ball.velocity.y = -ball.velocity.y
    else:
        ball.velocity.y = ball.velocity.y - 9.8*dt

There is not Box I don't think:

>>> from visual import Box
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<pyshell#0>", line 1
    from visual import Box
ImportError: cannot import name Box


Kirby

Re: [Visualpython-users] Is there anyway to uninstall vPython?

[M H. <air...@ho...>]

That's what I'm using is PyCharm and it seems to be so much better than Eclipse/PyDev, at least for a beginner. Anyway, is that the whole library in /Lib/site-packages/visual? Does it install anything somewhere else? Also, I see the visual directory but for some reason, I cannot import anything from this directory, as I get errors in PyCharms built-in console. This is the particular error:
Traceback (most recent call last):  File "C:/Users/airspoon/PycharmProjects/goo/vis.py", line 1, in <module>    from visual import *  File "C:\Python32\lib\site-packages\visual\__init__.py", line 1, in <module>    from .visual_all import *  File "C:\Python32\lib\site-packages\visual\visual_all.py", line 1, in <module>    from vis import version  File "C:\Users\airspoon\PycharmProjects\goo\vis.py", line 3, in <module>    floor = Box (pos=(0,0,0), length=4, height=0.5, width=4, color=color.blue)NameError: name 'Box' is not defined

This is what I get when I copy and paste the 'bouncing ball' example from the vPython website. Isn't that telling me that it can't import anything from the visual library?
Thanks for the help
> Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2012 10:13:02 -0700
> Subject: Re: [Visualpython-users] Is there anyway to uninstall vPython?
> From: kir...@gm...
> To: air...@ho...
> CC: vis...@li...
> 
> On Sun, Aug 26, 2012 at 9:25 AM, M Hartman <air...@ho...> wrote:
> > Hello, I recently installed vPython using the installer for Windows 7 64bit
> > (Python 3.2) and I noticed that it didn't put a link on my desktop for
> > VIDLE. So, I thought that I'd try the bouncing ball example from the vPython
> > library in my favorite editor and it simply doesn't work. I get error
> > messages over the very first 'from visual import *' (and just about
> > everything else). I'm not sure what's going on but I'd like to somehow
> > remove vPython and I can't find a clear way to do that, without uninstalling
> > my whole Python distribution. Is there anyway to just get rid of the vPython
> > while keeping the Python distro that it installed into? Thanks.
> >
> 
> I'm pretty sure it installs almost everything in your
> python32/Lib/site-packages/visual directory and you
> can just drag and drop that into your trash or however
> you prefer to delete file trees.  Is there a DLL that
> goes somewhere?  Shouldn't matter much.
> 
> As it so happens, I just installed 32bit Python 3.2
> with Visual on WinXP yesterday.  I wanted to see
> of the editor PyCharm from JetBrains, which many
> are gravitating towards ($29 for academic license),
> would handle visual programs without hiccups.  So
> far so good.
> 
> Ideally, visual could be adding to an existing
> virtualenv with pip install vpython but that didn't
> work, nor pip install visual.  But may it should be
> broken down into step with pip install numpy
> separate.
> 
> http://www.thisisthegreenroom.com/2011/installing-python-numpy-scipy-matplotlib-and-ipython-on-lion/
> 
> shows the kind of install process that visual could
> be a part of if there were a pip install way to get it.
> 
> I recommend that if you try with Win7 again, you
> learn about virtualenv and how to install visual in just
> one of your many virtual Python environments.  It's
> a way to isolate importables and dependencies.
> 
> Kirby
 		 	   		  

Re: [Visualpython-users] Is there anyway to uninstall vPython?

[kirby u. <kir...@gm...>]

On Sun, Aug 26, 2012 at 9:25 AM, M Hartman <air...@ho...> wrote:
> Hello, I recently installed vPython using the installer for Windows 7 64bit
> (Python 3.2) and I noticed that it didn't put a link on my desktop for
> VIDLE. So, I thought that I'd try the bouncing ball example from the vPython
> library in my favorite editor and it simply doesn't work. I get error
> messages over the very first 'from visual import *' (and just about
> everything else). I'm not sure what's going on but I'd like to somehow
> remove vPython and I can't find a clear way to do that, without uninstalling
> my whole Python distribution. Is there anyway to just get rid of the vPython
> while keeping the Python distro that it installed into? Thanks.
>

I'm pretty sure it installs almost everything in your
python32/Lib/site-packages/visual directory and you
can just drag and drop that into your trash or however
you prefer to delete file trees.  Is there a DLL that
goes somewhere?  Shouldn't matter much.

As it so happens, I just installed 32bit Python 3.2
with Visual on WinXP yesterday.  I wanted to see
of the editor PyCharm from JetBrains, which many
are gravitating towards ($29 for academic license),
would handle visual programs without hiccups.  So
far so good.

Ideally, visual could be adding to an existing
virtualenv with pip install vpython but that didn't
work, nor pip install visual.  But may it should be
broken down into step with pip install numpy
separate.

http://www.thisisthegreenroom.com/2011/installing-python-numpy-scipy-matplotlib-and-ipython-on-lion/

shows the kind of install process that visual could
be a part of if there were a pip install way to get it.

I recommend that if you try with Win7 again, you
learn about virtualenv and how to install visual in just
one of your many virtual Python environments.  It's
a way to isolate importables and dependencies.

Kirby

[Visualpython-users] Is there anyway to uninstall vPython?

[M H. <air...@ho...>]

Hello, I recently installed vPython using the installer for Windows 7 64bit (Python 3.2) and I noticed that it didn't put a link on my desktop for VIDLE. So, I thought that I'd try the bouncing ball example from the vPython library in my favorite editor and it simply doesn't work. I get error messages over the very first 'from visual import *' (and just about everything else). I'm not sure what's going on but I'd like to somehow remove vPython and I can't find a clear way to do that, without uninstalling my whole Python distribution. Is there anyway to just get rid of the vPython while keeping the Python distro that it installed into? Thanks. 		 	   		  

Re: [Visualpython-users] capture image

[gary r. <gr...@bi...>]

You could also try your code using mayavi2's visual module
http://docs.enthought.com/mayavi/mayavi/auto/example_mlab_visual.html
I don't know what version of vpython it emulates, but if your code
works in it, it will let you write the output directly.

Gary R.

On 22 August 2012 10:21, Ben Axelrod <be...@be...> wrote:
> Thanks, but I was hoping for something slightly more automated than
> taking a screenshot and cropping it.  Even if that is done programatically.
>
> I am pretty sure there is a simple way to pipe the opengl buffer to disk
> instead of the screen, and i was wondering if that feature was in vpython.
>
> Thanks,
> -Ben
>
>
> On 8/20/2012 10:24 PM, Aaron Titus wrote:
>> There's a contributed program at:
>>
>> http://vpython.org/contents/contributed/movie.py
>>
>> that shows how to use ImageMagic to capture the scene. In this case, the images are captured after a specified time interval and then used to make a movie.
>>
>> Aaron
>>
>> On Aug 20, 2012, at 8:55 PM, Ben Axelrod wrote:
>>
>>> is there a way to capture an image of the current scene without opening
>>> the view window?  I'd like to programatically build a scene then take an
>>> image of it.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> -Ben
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> Live Security Virtual Conference
>>> Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and
>>> threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions
>>> will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware
>>> threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Visualpython-users mailing list
>>> Vis...@li...
>>> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/visualpython-users
>>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Live Security Virtual Conference
> Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and
> threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions
> will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware
> threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/
> _______________________________________________
> Visualpython-users mailing list
> Vis...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/visualpython-users

Re: [Visualpython-users] capture image

[Ben A. <be...@be...>]

Thanks, but I was hoping for something slightly more automated than 
taking a screenshot and cropping it.  Even if that is done programatically.

I am pretty sure there is a simple way to pipe the opengl buffer to disk 
instead of the screen, and i was wondering if that feature was in vpython.

Thanks,
-Ben


On 8/20/2012 10:24 PM, Aaron Titus wrote:
> There's a contributed program at:
>
> http://vpython.org/contents/contributed/movie.py
>
> that shows how to use ImageMagic to capture the scene. In this case, the images are captured after a specified time interval and then used to make a movie.
>
> Aaron
>
> On Aug 20, 2012, at 8:55 PM, Ben Axelrod wrote:
>
>> is there a way to capture an image of the current scene without opening
>> the view window?  I'd like to programatically build a scene then take an
>> image of it.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> -Ben
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Live Security Virtual Conference
>> Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and
>> threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions
>> will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware
>> threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/
>> _______________________________________________
>> Visualpython-users mailing list
>> Vis...@li...
>> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/visualpython-users
>

Re: [Visualpython-users] capture image

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

Also see http://vpython.org/contents/FAQ.html

On Mon, Aug 20, 2012 at 6:55 PM, Ben Axelrod <be...@be...> wrote:
> is there a way to capture an image of the current scene without opening
> the view window?  I'd like to programatically build a scene then take an
> image of it.
>
> Thanks,
> -Ben
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Live Security Virtual Conference
> Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and
> threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions
> will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware
> threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/
> _______________________________________________
> Visualpython-users mailing list
> Vis...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/visualpython-users

Re: [Visualpython-users] capture image

[Aaron T. <hpu...@gm...>]

There's a contributed program at:

http://vpython.org/contents/contributed/movie.py

that shows how to use ImageMagic to capture the scene. In this case, the images are captured after a specified time interval and then used to make a movie.

Aaron

On Aug 20, 2012, at 8:55 PM, Ben Axelrod wrote:

> is there a way to capture an image of the current scene without opening 
> the view window?  I'd like to programatically build a scene then take an 
> image of it.
> 
> Thanks,
> -Ben
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Live Security Virtual Conference
> Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and 
> threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions 
> will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware 
> threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/
> _______________________________________________
> Visualpython-users mailing list
> Vis...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/visualpython-users

[Visualpython-users] capture image

[Ben A. <be...@be...>]

is there a way to capture an image of the current scene without opening 
the view window?  I'd like to programatically build a scene then take an 
image of it.

Thanks,
-Ben

Re: [Visualpython-users] Visual Python, OS X source build, Homebrew dependencies

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

Thanks much, Martin. What would be the most useful link to your
version to place on the vpython.org Mac download page?

Bruce Sherwood

On Thu, Aug 16, 2012 at 6:27 PM, Martin Costabel <cos...@wa...> wrote:
> On 14/08/12 16:27, Martin Costabel wrote:
> []
>> For Fink on OSX 10.7/10.8, I haven't yet made a visualpython package. I
>> am running into compilation errors of the type
>>
>> ./core/util/gl_extensions.cpp:50:17: error: assigning to
>> 'PFNGLTEXIMAGE3DEXTPROC' (aka 'void (*)(GLenum, GLint, GLenum, GLsizei,
>> GLsizei, GLsizei, GLint, GLenum, GLenum, const GLvoid *)') from
>> incompatible type 'void (GLenum, GLint, GLint, GLsizei, GLsizei,
>> GLsizei, GLint, GLenum, GLenum, const GLvoid *)': type mismatch at 3rd
>> parameter ('GLenum' (aka 'unsigned int') vs 'GLint' (aka 'int'))
>>                           glTexImage3D = ::glTexImage3D;
>>                                        ^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>
>> There are lots of header files that might be responsible for such
>> incompatibilities, and I am not willing to spend hours chasing down such
>> errors.
>
> Finally, I did spend those hours and found a workaround. It turns out
> that there are two incompatible declarations of glTexImage3D floating
> around in the various OpenGL/gl.h or GL/glext.h headers. Apple changed
> the OpenGL/gl.h header between OSX 10.6 and 10.7 from one version to the
> other, and vpython is now mixing the two, which does not compile.
>
> Patching the definition of PFNGLTEXIMAGE3DEXTPROC in include/GL/glext.h
> allows visual to compile, and it runs OK.
>
> Version 5.74 is now in Fink.
>
> --
> Martin
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Live Security Virtual Conference
> Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and
> threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions
> will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware
> threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/
> _______________________________________________
> Visualpython-users mailing list
> Vis...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/visualpython-users

Re: [Visualpython-users] Visual Python, OS X source build, Homebrew dependencies

[Martin C. <cos...@wa...>]

On 14/08/12 16:27, Martin Costabel wrote:
[]
> For Fink on OSX 10.7/10.8, I haven't yet made a visualpython package. I
> am running into compilation errors of the type
>
> ./core/util/gl_extensions.cpp:50:17: error: assigning to
> 'PFNGLTEXIMAGE3DEXTPROC' (aka 'void (*)(GLenum, GLint, GLenum, GLsizei,
> GLsizei, GLsizei, GLint, GLenum, GLenum, const GLvoid *)') from
> incompatible type 'void (GLenum, GLint, GLint, GLsizei, GLsizei,
> GLsizei, GLint, GLenum, GLenum, const GLvoid *)': type mismatch at 3rd
> parameter ('GLenum' (aka 'unsigned int') vs 'GLint' (aka 'int'))
>                           glTexImage3D = ::glTexImage3D;
>                                        ^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> There are lots of header files that might be responsible for such
> incompatibilities, and I am not willing to spend hours chasing down such
> errors.

Finally, I did spend those hours and found a workaround. It turns out 
that there are two incompatible declarations of glTexImage3D floating 
around in the various OpenGL/gl.h or GL/glext.h headers. Apple changed 
the OpenGL/gl.h header between OSX 10.6 and 10.7 from one version to the 
other, and vpython is now mixing the two, which does not compile.

Patching the definition of PFNGLTEXIMAGE3DEXTPROC in include/GL/glext.h 
allows visual to compile, and it runs OK.

Version 5.74 is now in Fink.

-- 
Martin

Re: [Visualpython-users] Visual Python, OS X source build, Homebrew dependencies

[Guilherme B. T. <gui...@gm...>]

On 14/08/12 00:19, Bruce Sherwood wrote:
> What remains is a fair amount of work to replace the current GUI
> machinery with this scheme, which has the added advantage of being
> based on wxPython which will provide such features as pull-down menus,
> etc.

In case deep changes are needed, perhaps it is worth investigation how 
other projects handle the GUI part.
For instance, Matplotlib[1] and Chaco[2] can handle several backends 
(WX, Qt, GTK, Tk, Cocoa/Mac OSX, ...). Backends can be changed at will 
(provided dependencies are available during install). The default is 
decided during installation or via a variable stated on a 
configuration/profile file. Therefore a 'import visual' will know how to 
handle itself on the target system, hopefully without breaking existing 
code. One can also switch backends by importing the desired backend 
module or via a 'select' method on the beginning of the program.
The backend encapsulates the user interaction and the rendering, letting 
the lower level modules be as generic as possible (in terms of GUI 
management). This would allow easy embedding whenever a backend is 
available.
Users should be able to follow templates and create new backends as they 
do for Matplotlib [3],[4].

I must say that I'm not yet familiar with the VPython code. I also don't 
know how it all fit together with the conflict between VPython and 
Cocoa, but the suggestion remains.

Best,
Guilherme

[1] http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/faq/installing_faq.html#backends
[2] 
http://code.enthought.com/projects/chaco/docs/html/architecture_overview.html
[3] 
https://github.com/matplotlib/matplotlib/tree/master/lib/matplotlib/backends
[4] https://github.com/matplotlib/matplotlib/tree/master/src

Re: [Visualpython-users] Visual Python, OS X source build, Homebrew dependencies

[Martin C. <cos...@wa...>]

On 13/08/12 17:21, Guilherme Brondani Torri wrote:
[]
> Need to edit or patch a Makefile which is hardcoded to Fink. Remove
> hardcoded path, switch to dynamic boost-python, switch to multi-threaded
> boost-signal
>
> [edit | patch] src/Makefile.in
> 203  -    $(GTHREAD_LIBS) /sw/lib/libboost_python-mt.a -lboost_thread-mt
> -lboost_signals)
> 203  +    $(GTHREAD_LIBS) -lboost_python-mt -lboost_thread-mt
> -lboost_signals-mt)
> [end edit]

In fact, for the Fink package I am patching this line, too. Fink doesn't 
necessarily live in /sw, so hardcoding this isn't as helpful for Fink as 
one could assume.

For Fink on OSX 10.7/10.8, I haven't yet made a visualpython package. I 
am running into compilation errors of the type

./core/util/gl_extensions.cpp:50:17: error: assigning to 
'PFNGLTEXIMAGE3DEXTPROC' (aka 'void (*)(GLenum, GLint, GLenum, GLsizei, 
GLsizei, GLsizei, GLint, GLenum, GLenum, const GLvoid *)') from 
incompatible type 'void (GLenum, GLint, GLint, GLsizei, GLsizei, 
GLsizei, GLint, GLenum, GLenum, const GLvoid *)': type mismatch at 3rd 
parameter ('GLenum' (aka 'unsigned int') vs 'GLint' (aka 'int'))
                         glTexImage3D = ::glTexImage3D;
                                      ^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are lots of header files that might be responsible for such 
incompatibilities, and I am not willing to spend hours chasing down such 
errors.

-- 
Martin

Re: [Visualpython-users] Visual Python, OS X source build, Homebrew dependencies

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

Currently there are many novice programmers using VPython, including
several thousand physics students being introduced to computational
modeling in the "Matter & Interactions" curriculum
(matterandinteractions.org). These users expect a standard install
procedure and a native look and feel. At the moment this is impossible
on the Mac because VPython is built on Carbon but 64-bit Python
requires a VPython built on Cocoa.

The problem is that Cocoa is required to be the primary thread,
whereas the VPython architecture requires the GUI component to be a
secondary thread. Until very recently there didn't seem to be any way
around this. Recently however, with lots of excellent help and advice
from the wxPython community, I've found a solution in principle,
though I haven't yet implemented it.

The scheme is bizarre but it works in a simple (non-VPython) test case
on all platforms, including Mac Cocoa. Suppose your program is in a
file that contains an import of visual and a rotating box in a
rate-limited while loop. The import of visual sets up the wxPython GUI
machinery but does NOT start the interact loop. The visual module next
imports your program (!) and after this import has its own infinite
while loop. Here's a sketch of the visual module:

* Set up GUI machinery
* Import user program
* while true: rate(30)

Note that if your program ends, execution falls through to the visual
module's while loop, which leaves the graphics window still active,
with zoom and rotate still available.

In your animation loop you call the rate function, which at
appropriate times calls a one-shot interaction with Cocoa, developed
by Robin Dunn, the creator of wxPython. This processes events and
renders the current scene. There are no threads! It's all done by
polling, and requires that animation loops contain rate statements,
something that's pretty universal anyway, and has seemed okay in the
new GlowScript project, too (glowscript.org). Moreover, it addresses
the current problem that a long scene setup may display a partial
scene due to interrupts by the secondary GUI thread.

(Minor point: any code in your program that precedes the import of
visual will be executed twice, which needs to be explained. This is
pretty innocent if the repeated code consists just of imports of
Python modules, because no calculations in those modules will be
repeated.)

What remains is a fair amount of work to replace the current GUI
machinery with this scheme, which has the added advantage of being
based on wxPython which will provide such features as pull-down menus,
etc.

Bruce Sherwood

Re: [Visualpython-users] Visual Python, OS X source build, Homebrew dependencies

[Guilherme B. T. <gui...@gm...>]

On 13/08/12 21:04, Bruce Sherwood wrote:
> Many thanks for this! Are you able to build for 64-bit Python?

My Python was built as universal (32 and 64-bit), however the 
cvisualmodule.so ended as 64-bit. See below:

$ file /usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/vis/cvisualmodule.so
/usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/vis/cvisualmodule.so: Mach-O 
64-bit bundle x86_64

In necessary, with some compiler flags tweaking perhaps VPython can be 
also build as fat universal.

> For Mac users who may not be familiar with the X11 window system, it
> should be explained that this procedure produces a Unix/Linux-like
> version of VPython, not a "native-mode" version. I'm hoping to produce
> a native-mode version based on Cocoa, using wxPython, which would be
> usable with 64-bit Python.

Yes, it should be made clear the build yields a X11 interface.

I currently do my small GUIs with Qt/PyQt. It should not be that far 
away from wxPython. Once you get the wxPython running I try to have a 
look on how to have it on PyQt. It would be nice if we could embed 
VPython into other applications.

Are you going to provide this "native-mode" as the default or as optional?

Best,
Guilherme

Re: [Visualpython-users] Visual Python, OS X source build, Homebrew dependencies

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

Many thanks for this! Are you able to build for 64-bit Python?

For Mac users who may not be familiar with the X11 window system, it
should be explained that this procedure produces a Unix/Linux-like
version of VPython, not a "native-mode" version. I'm hoping to produce
a native-mode version based on Cocoa, using wxPython, which would be
usable with 64-bit Python.

Bruce Sherwood

[Visualpython-users] Visual Python, OS X source build, Homebrew dependencies

[Guilherme B. T. <gui...@gm...>]

Hello,

Just wanted to report how I compiled Visual Python 5.74 from source on
OS X. The dependencies were supplied by Homebrew [1] (alternative to
MacPorts and Fink). More importantly, I also drafted a Homebrew formula
which automates the build on OS X.

My environment is as follows:
- OS X 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard)
- XCode 3.2.6
- Python 2.7.3 (built with Homebrew [2])

All other dependencies are being provided by Homebrew.

I haven't tested against the Python shipped with OSX, nor custom Python
builds installed in custom prefixes. The formula tries to take care of
finding the proper python library path.

The draft Homebrew formula is temporarily on the link below. After a bit
of test and cleanup we can ask to have it included into Homebrew.
https://gist.github.com/3340522

If you have a working Homebrew installation, you might try to install
Visual Python from the above formula (see instructions below for other
Python dependencies). It might take a while, since Homebrew will trigger
a download and compile chain for a whole bunch of dependencies (20+
other packages).

$ brew install
https://gist.github.com/raw/3340522/630f49b0f9c91b80c2ad652e0ee5def455116f62/visualpython.rb

I picked the name 'visualpython' for the package, let me know if I
should change it.

Issues:
1) Down below I suggest a one-line patch to the build system, to remove
a Fink hardcoded path. Please keep it in mind for the next release.
2) I am getting a warning (see below) from the X11 window which runs the
visual objects. Is that relevant?


Ideally, one should be able to install Visual Python with just 2
commands. One for Homebrew to compile and install Visual. Another for
pip to fetch the other Python modules from PyPI (currently two modules
have broken links or broken builds at PyPI).

This was the interesting part of this message.

--

Below I gathered some notes on how I compiled Visual Python manually
before creating the Homebrew formula.

I have installed Python 2.7 via Homebrew [2], but perhaps the following
will work also with the Python shipped with OS X, and other versions of
OS X.

Let's get the dependencies. It might take a while, since Homebrew will
download and compile a whole bunch of dependencies (20+ other packages)
to satisfy these three main dependencies.

$ brew install boost
$ brew install gtkglextmm
$ brew install libglademm

We need to 'link' some packages in order to get them ahead of the OSX
older versions.
Apparently visual needs autoconf >= 2.68. Homebrew has 2.69 which we
link to put it on the path. gktglextmm needs cairo linked and cairo
needs pixman linked.

$ brew link autoconf cairo pixman

Ready to move on to Visual Python source.

$ wget http://www.vpython.org/contents/download/visual-5.74_release.tar.bz2
$ tar xvfz visual-5.74_release.tar.bz2
$ cd visual-5.74_release
$ autoconf

Need to edit or patch a Makefile which is hardcoded to Fink. Remove
hardcoded path, switch to dynamic boost-python, switch to multi-threaded
boost-signal

[edit | patch] src/Makefile.in
203  -    $(GTHREAD_LIBS) /sw/lib/libboost_python-mt.a -lboost_thread-mt
-lboost_signals)
203  +    $(GTHREAD_LIBS) -lboost_python-mt -lboost_thread-mt
-lboost_signals-mt)
[end edit]

Now we can configure and build.

$ mkdir build; cd build

We instruct pkg-config to look for .pc files into Homebrew and X11
(xrender.pc).

$ export PKG_CONFIG_PATH="/usr/local/lib/pkgconfig:/usr/X11/lib/pkgconfig"

The `brew --prefix` is typically /usr/local. The install might break if
you haven't installed anything into
/usr/local/local/python2.7/site-packages yet.

During build it will pick some libs from /usr/X11/lib (libGLU, libXmu,
...). The '-framework OpenGL' gets around 'Undefined symbols:
"_CGLGetCurrentContext" '. By pointing to libpython2.7 it gets around
'Undefined symbols: "_PyExc_RuntimeError" '.

Using the LDFLAGS was the less disruptive way I found to succeed with
the build.

$ ../configure --prefix=`brew --prefix` LDFLAGS="-L/usr/X11/lib
-framework OpenGL
-L/usr/local/Cellar/python/2.7.3/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib
-lpython2.7"

Finally...

$ make install

------
Now we move on to the Python dependencies (ttfquery, fonttools, polygon).

$ pip install ttfquery

Fonttools link is broken on PyPI, pointing to the tarball allows you
continue.

$ pip install
http://sourceforge.net/projects/fonttools/files/2.3/fonttools-2.3.tar.gz

Polygon is also broken on PyPI. It also has a small NumPy issue on its
setup.py. I already informed upstream [3].

$ wget https://github.com/downloads/jraedler/Polygon2/Polygon-2.0.5.zip
$ unzip Polygon-2.0.5.zip

[edit | patch] Polygon-2.0.5/setup.py
29  if withNumPy:
30      try:
31          import numpy
32          print "Using NumPy extension"
33          mac.append(('WITH_NUMPY', 1))
34  +       numPyIncludePath=numpy.get_include() #add this
[end edit]

$ pip install  ./Polygon-2.0.5

------
Assuming that your /usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages is present on
PYTHONPATH, you should now be good to run visual.

I tested the installation with the following script:

   # testvisual.py
   from visual import *
   redbox=box(pos=vector(4,2,3),size=(8,4,6),color=color.red)
   ball=sphere(pos=vector(4,7,3),radius=2,color=color.green)

Both objects show up on a X11 window, but the following warning is also
issued:
   Xlib:  extension "RANDR" missing on display "/tmp/launch-Nowttg/org.x:0".
   warning: get proc address request is not for a gl or glX function


----

That was it.

With best regards,
Guilherme



[1] http://mxcl.github.com/homebrew/
[2]
http://www.thisisthegreenroom.com/2011/installing-python-numpy-scipy-matplotlib-and-ipython-on-lion/
[3] https://github.com/jraedler/Polygon2/pull/1

Re: [Visualpython-users] faces texture don't use axis

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

Thanks for pointing this omission from the documentation. Duly noted.

Bruce Sherwood

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 3:46 PM, Antonio Garcia <aga...@gm...> wrote:
>
> Well, my problem was that I was using a texture in faces object with a
> mapping "rectangular/sign" and nothing appear when I tried to paint the
> faces object, only blank/gray colors.
>
> I solved using another mapping (just reading the materials.py in
> ~/site-packages/vis directory), the valid mapping list are: rectangular,
> sign, spherical,top, bottom, front, left, right, back, cubic, hollow_box and
> cylinder. Can I suggest put this list into the doc?
>
> Regards,
>
>
> 2012/7/23 Antonio Garcia <aga...@gm...>
>>
>> Hi list,
>>
>> I am trying create a very simple model based in triangles using the
>> faces/frame objects in Vpython,
>>
>> I've tried put a texture onto my model, but always the system uses the
>> axis (1,0,0) as projection direction, and I can not select this direction of
>> projection as in box.
>>
>> Is there any way to select this projection axis using the faces object?
>>
>> Kind regards, and thank you for your great work.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Live Security Virtual Conference
> Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and
> threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions
> will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware
> threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/
> _______________________________________________
> Visualpython-users mailing list
> Vis...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/visualpython-users
>

Re: [Visualpython-users] faces texture don't use axis

[Antonio G. <aga...@gm...>]

Well, my problem was that I was using a texture in faces object with a
mapping "rectangular/sign" and nothing appear when I tried to paint the
faces object, only blank/gray colors.

I solved using another mapping (just reading the materials.py in
~/site-packages/vis directory), the valid mapping list are: rectangular,
sign, spherical,top, bottom, front, left, right, back, cubic, hollow_box
and cylinder. Can I suggest put this list into the doc?

Regards,


2012/7/23 Antonio Garcia <aga...@gm...>

> Hi list,
>
> I am trying create a very simple model based in triangles using the
> faces/frame objects in Vpython,
>
> I've tried put a texture onto my model, but always the system uses the
> axis (1,0,0) as projection direction, and I can not select this direction
> of projection as in box.
>
> Is there any way to select this projection axis using the faces object?
>
> Kind regards, and thank you for your great work.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

[Visualpython-users] Building 64-bit VPython on MacOS X

[Steven B. <bw...@ph...>]

Greetings Fellow VPython Users,

We are using Python fairly extensively in Physics courses here and so far 
32-bit limitations have not been much of a problem on either Windows or 
MacOS X. However, that seems unlikely to be true in the not very distant 
future (especially given Apple's penchant for forced obsolescence of both 
hardware and software.)

Recently, I have been trying to put together a 64-bit suite of tools for 
the MacOS X users in our student body and the final obstacle is the visual 
module. (Actually VPython was the final obstacle on Windows as well, but 
we were able to take advantage of packages built by Christoph Gohlke at 
http://www.lfd.uci.edu/~gohlke/pythonlibs/#vpython)

It is clear that the "native" port (via Carbon) is impossible because it 
is only 32-bit; so the target is X11 graphics.

I am working on a MacPorts Portfile that now successfully fetches 
visual_5.74_release.tar.bz2, unpacks it, runs configure with flags that 
appear to permit all of the libraries and include files to be found and 
then runs make. While building, I encounter problems in gl_extensions.cpp.

    ./core/util/gl_extensions.cpp: In member function 'void 
cvisual::gl_extensions::init(cvisual::display_kernel&)':
./core/util/gl_extensions.cpp:50: error: invalid conversion from 'void 
(*)(GLenum, GLint, GLint, GLsizei, GLsizei, GLsizei, GLint, GLenum, 
GLenum, const GLvoid*)' to 'void (*)(GLenum, GLint, GLenum, GLsizei, 
GLsizei, GLsizei, GLint, GLenum, GLenum, const GLvoid*)'

Truncating signatures we have:
(a)  enum, int, int,  sizei, sizei, int, enum, enum, void*
(b)  enum, int, enum, sizei, sizei, int, enum, enum, void*

So, the third arguments are inconsistent. While I have a substantial 
amount of programming experience, but I am not a developer and I have not 
touched C++ since before it was an ANSI standard; so I am having a devil 
of a time interpreting what I am seeing in the source files.

It appears that the cvisual constructor that takes a display_kernel 
address as an argument is finding that it has received an object that 
doesn't conform with signature expectations. Given that this code must be 
working on other platforms, do we have an enum/int casting incompatibility 
that is exclusive to 64-bit Mac OS X? Perhaps int is an int64 while enum 
is an int32?

Any hints on how to fix this issue would be appreciated.

Thanks.

-- 
Steve Butterworth, Manager   | If you make people think they're thinking,
Physics Computing Services   | they'll love you; but if you really make
McLennan Labs 805            | them think, they'll hate you. -- Don
Phone: 416-978-2746          | Marquis
<bw...@ph...> |

Re: [Visualpython-users] faces texture don't use axis

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

No, there isn't an axis option with faces, but you can put a faces
object in a frame, build the faces object, then rotate the frame.

Bruce Sherwood

On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 5:18 PM, Antonio Garcia <aga...@gm...> wrote:
> Hi list,
>
> I am trying create a very simple model based in triangles using the
> faces/frame objects in Vpython,
>
> I've tried put a texture onto my model, but always the system uses the axis
> (1,0,0) as projection direction, and I can not select this direction of
> projection as in box.
>
> Is there any way to select this projection axis using the faces object?
>
> Kind regards, and thank you for your great work.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Live Security Virtual Conference
> Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and
> threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions
> will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware
> threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/
> _______________________________________________
> Visualpython-users mailing list
> Vis...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/visualpython-users
>

[Visualpython-users] faces texture don't use axis

[Antonio G. <aga...@gm...>]

Hi list,

I am trying create a very simple model based in triangles using the
faces/frame objects in Vpython,

I've tried put a texture onto my model, but always the system uses the axis
(1,0,0) as projection direction, and I can not select this direction of
projection as in box.

Is there any way to select this projection axis using the faces object?

Kind regards, and thank you for your great work.

Re: [Visualpython-users] FontTools modules are not installed

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

FontTools alone isn't sufficient. From the Linux (source) download
page at vpython.org:

In support of the 3D text and extrusion objects, you will need to
install the font-handling modules FontTools, ttfquery (version 1.0.4
or later), and Polygon (all available from pypi.python.org), for which
the following conditions apply: "Polygon is being distributed subject
to the following conditions: This distribution contains code from the
GPC Library, and/or code resulting from the use of the GPC Library.
This usage has been authorized by The University of Manchester, on the
understanding that the GPC-related features are used only in the
context of this distribution. It is not permitted to extract the GPC
code from the distribution as the basis for commercial exploitation,
unless a GPC Commercial Use Licence is obtained from The University of
Manchester, contact: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/~toby/gpc/".

Bruce Sherwood

On Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 12:50 PM, Antonio Garcia <aga...@gm...> wrote:
> Hi list,
>
> I have a problem with a text3D.py example...
>
> Basically it doesn't correctly, and I receive the same error (FontTools
> modules are not installed...) when I run all the examples.
> I have a compiled version of vpython (5.74) on ubuntu 12.04. I've installed
> the FontTools 2.3 and compile it with no problems.
>
> Any idea?
>
> antonio@master:~/dev/visual-5.74_release/examples$ python text3D.py
> The ttfquery and/or FontTools modules are not installed,
>    so the text object is unavailable.
> The ttfquery and/or FontTools modules are not installed,
>    so the text object is unavailable.
> Traceback (most recent call last):
>   File "text3D.py", line 8, in <module>
>     vertical = (title.upper_left-title.start).norm()
>   File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/vis/primitives.py", line
> 1002, in get_upper_left
>     return self.__frame.frame_to_world(self.__upper_left)
> AttributeError: 'text' object has no attribute '_text__frame'
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Live Security Virtual Conference
> Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and
> threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions
> will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware
> threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/
> _______________________________________________
> Visualpython-users mailing list
> Vis...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/visualpython-users
>

[Visualpython-users] FontTools modules are not installed

[Antonio G. <aga...@gm...>]

Hi list,

I have a problem with a text3D.py example...

Basically it doesn't correctly, and I receive the same error (FontTools
modules are not installed...) when I run all the examples.
I have a compiled version of vpython (5.74) on ubuntu 12.04. I've installed
the FontTools 2.3 and compile it with no problems.

Any idea?

antonio@master:~/dev/visual-5.74_release/examples$ python text3D.py
The ttfquery and/or FontTools modules are not installed,
   so the text object is unavailable.
The ttfquery and/or FontTools modules are not installed,
   so the text object is unavailable.
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "text3D.py", line 8, in <module>
    vertical = (title.upper_left-title.start).norm()
  File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/vis/primitives.py", line
1002, in get_upper_left
    return self.__frame.frame_to_world(self.__upper_left)
AttributeError: 'text' object has no attribute '_text__frame'