Diet Python

This is Diet version 0.2 of Python version 2.5 beta 2 ===================================================== Copyright (c) 2006 by The Eternal Squire All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2006 by Travis Oliphant All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2005 by Shawn Hargreaves All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2001-2005 Juha-Matti Tapio and Alberto Griggio All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2005-2006 Grzegorz Adam Hankiewicz All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2003 Flangy Software & Adam Vandenberg All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 1996-2001 by Sam Rushing. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Python Software Foundation. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2000 BeOpen.com. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 1995-2001 Corporation for National Research Initiatives. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 1991-1995 Stichting Mathematisch Centrum. All rights reserved. And possibly many others... License information ------------------- Please refer to LICENSE in the main Python release from the Python Software Foundation. What's new in this release? --------------------------- Release 0.2 has a reworked Python module interface to the _alpymodule. I believe it to be much more 'pythonic'. There's a lot less code to write just in order to make a simple example work. See the examples! I've dropped in the Allegro library from the OpenLayer project. That one seems to be a lot more reliable. I'm using sources from the Python 2.5 beta 2 PSF release. I've also rewritten some of the Allegro examples just to show that the reworked interface works. I also fixed a serious bug in the Python startup... the cutdown python.exe can now be executed via the PATH. I also added back the _randommodule, and exposed the Random object at startup. Diet Python is now starting to look like a lightweight, hardcore, bare metal gaming Python. What's new in release 0.1? --------------------------- Diet Python is Python for clients that want to stay thin :) Diet Python is a starting point for several legitimate purposes not addressed by the mainstream users: embedded PC's on-a-board, alternate site library development, rescue floppies, thin clients, discless workstations, gaming, etc... Diet Python is a variant release of Python that while does not alter the Python language in any way, is a drastically cut-down version whose purpose is to serve as a thin computing core. Nearly all extraneous modules have been removed from the runtime, as well as the entire user library. In exchange, the following extras are provided as compile-in modules: multiarraymodule, umathmodule, calldll, npstruct, alpy, wcurses. The above should allow plenty of possibilities for user interfaces, graphics processing, and process control. Sweetened with Allegro... ------------------------- Rather than using Tk/Tcl for graphics, Alpy has been substituted, and given the name 'allegro', There are a few Allegro-centered GUI interface applications that can easily be rewritten in Python, for those who have the burning desire to do so, Diet Python awaits your artistry. Fortified with the Numpy multiarray type... ------------------------------------------- Currently there is discussion taking place regarding making the Numpy multiarray facility the default array type. Diet Python anticipates this and incorporates the multiarray module, renamed as 'array', and the umath module for operating on these arrays. No other parts of Numpy or Scipy available right now, sorry. Flavored with Curses... ----------------------- The WCurses module in built into the distribution as well, renamed as 'curses'. I've heard from a lot of roguelike discussion groups about wanting to port to Python. Guys and gals, here's your chance... What is Python anyway? ---------------------- Python is an interpreted, interactive object-oriented programming language suitable (amongst other uses) for distributed application development, scripting, numeric computing and system testing. Python is often compared to Tcl, Perl, Java, JavaScript, Visual Basic or Scheme. To find out more about what Python can do for you, point your browser to http://www.python.org/. But wait, THERE'S MORE! We're adding free can and bottle openers! ------------------------------------------------------------------ You get all the above, plus calldll and npstruct built-in. No more of those messy custom DLL and struct wrapper chores, a lot of the work will now be hidden from your dinner guests in case they go snooping in the kitchen. ... and a customizeable implicit startup feature! ------------------------------------------------- If you place an __init__.py file right next to python.exe or pythonw.exe into your build, Diet Python will execute that file just after site importation. try: ---- A working stock release of Diet Python is available as Diet.zip, simply unzip the package, change directory into the bin, and run that python. except build: ------------- Diet Python builds using Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Express (free) release along with a Version 2 or better Platform SDK. Please see the html article, "Using Visual C++ 2005 Express with the Microsoft Platform", in the PCBuild directory for setup. except buy: ----------- Sorry, this package is not for sale :) It's open source. Donations are always appreciated and highly encouraged, see the FAQ for details. finally: -------- The reader is strongly suggested to master regular Python to his or her satisfaction prior to attempting to customize his or her Diet. Special notes: -------------- 1) There is no os module. The posix module has been renamed as diet. Some os calls will eventually be built into later releases of the diet compiled module. 2) In the stock release (Diet.zip) the following modules are available as globals: stdin, stdout, stderr, allegro, curses, array, umath, and diet 3) Diet Python is NOT compatible with other installed Python releases. It will try to import the site library of an installed Python, with predictably sad results.