At http://vpython.org you will now find installation instructions for
VPython running on the X11 graphics system on Mac OSX. Many thanks to Steve
Spicklemire for explaining how to compile and run VPython in this
environment. This version includes the full IDLE capabilities formerly
available only on Windows and Linux.
It is unfortunate that the installation instructions are quite lengthy. We
would much appreciate reports on how well they work, and how to improve
them.
Some context: There is still available at http://vpython.org a version for
Mac OS 9, which does not have a working VPython version of IDLE, because we
were unable to solve the problems of socket communication in launching a
run. You have to use some other text editor, save the file, and drag the
file onto the interpreter, which is much less convenient than the
single-key edit/run cycle available in IDLE. The new OSX version takes
advantage of the fact that if you install the X11 graphics system on OSX,
the Mac Unix environment is quite similar to Linux.
It would be desirable to have a non-X11 version of VPython, one which not
require installing X11. What is needed is for someone knowledgeable about
OSX to write Carbon or Cocoa code to create a window and process mouse and
keyboard events, with OpenGL doing the graphics in that window. Any
volunteers?
Bruce Sherwood
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