Properly Installing Python¶
Mac OS X¶
Or, “Installing Python 2.7 via Homebrew”.
One of the reasons everybody loves Python is the interactive shell. It basically allows you to execute Python commands in real time and immediately get results back. Flask itself does not come with an interactive shell, because it does not require any specific setup upfront, just import your application and start playing around.
Package Manager¶
While Snow Leopard comes with a large number of UNIX utilities, those familiar with Linux systems will notice one key component missing: a package manager. Mxcl’s Homebrew is the answer.
To install Homebrew, simply run:
$ ruby -e "$(curl -fsS http://gist.github.com/raw/323731/install_homebrew.rb)"
It’s basic commands are update, install, and remove.
Python Interpreter¶
And we can now install Python 2.7:
$ brew install python --framework
The --framework
option tells Homebrew to compile a Framework-style Python build, rather than a UNIX-style build. The outdated version of Python that Snow Leopard comes packaged with
is built as a Framework, so this helps avoid some future module installation
bugs.
Don’t forget to update your environment PATH.
Distribute & Pip¶
Distribute is a fantastic drop-in replacement for easy_install and setuptools. It allows you to install and manage python packages from pypi.python.org, amongst a few other sources. It also plays well with virtualenv and user-enviornments.
easy_install is considered by many to be a deprecated system, so we will install it’s replacement: pip. Pip allows for uninstallation of packages, and is actively maintained, unlike setuptool’s easy_install.
To install pip and Distribute’s easy_install:
If you have homebrew:
$ brew install pip
...And, if you’re a masochist:
$ curl -O http://python-distribute.org/distribute_setup.py
$ python distribute_setup.py
$ easy_install pip
To install pip
:
Hopefully you’ll never have to use easy_install again.
Windows¶
Prerequisites:¶
- Python2.7 (x86) from Python.org
- Microsoft Visual Studio
Step 1: Install Distribute & Pip¶
Distribute is a fantastic drop-in replacement for easy_install and setuptools. It allows you to install and manage python packages from PyPi, amongst a few other sources.
- To install it, run the python script available here:
- <http://python-distribute.org/distribute_setup.py>
Make sure that `C:\Python27\`
, and `C:\Python27\Scripts`
are in your PATH.
easy_install is considered by many to be a deprecated system, so we will install it’s replacement: pip. Pip allows for uninstallation of packages, and is actively maintained, unlike setuptool’s easy_install.
To install pip, simply run:
$ easy_install pip