.. highlightlang:: sh .. _using-on-unix: ******************************** Using Python on Unix platforms ******************************** .. sectionauthor:: Shriphani Palakodety Getting and installing the latest version of Python =================================================== On Linux -------- Python comes preinstalled on most Linux distributions, and is available as a package on all others. However there are certain features you might want to use that are not available on your distro's package. You can easily compile the latest version of Python from source. In the event that Python doesn't come preinstalled and isn't in the repositories as well, you can easily make packages for your own distro. Have a look at the following links: .. seealso:: https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/maint-guide/first.en.html for Debian users https://en.opensuse.org/Portal:Packaging for OpenSuse users https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/Fedora_Draft_Documentation/0.1/html/RPM_Guide/ch-creating-rpms.html for Fedora users http://www.slackbook.org/html/package-management-making-packages.html for Slackware users On FreeBSD and OpenBSD ---------------------- * FreeBSD users, to add the package use:: pkg install python3 * OpenBSD users, to add the package use:: pkg_add -r python pkg_add ftp://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/4.2/packages//python-.tgz For example i386 users get the 2.5.1 version of Python using:: pkg_add ftp://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/4.2/packages/i386/python-2.5.1p2.tgz On OpenSolaris -------------- You can get Python from `OpenCSW `_. Various versions of Python are available and can be installed with e.g. ``pkgutil -i python27``. .. _building-python-on-unix: Building Python =============== If you want to compile CPython yourself, first thing you should do is get the `source `_. You can download either the latest release's source or just grab a fresh `clone `_. (If you want to contribute patches, you will need a clone.) The build process consists in the usual :: ./configure make make install invocations. Configuration options and caveats for specific Unix platforms are extensively documented in the :source:`README` file in the root of the Python source tree. .. warning:: ``make install`` can overwrite or masquerade the :file:`python` binary. ``make altinstall`` is therefore recommended instead of ``make install`` since it only installs :file:`{exec_prefix}/bin/python{version}`. Python-related paths and files ============================== These are subject to difference depending on local installation conventions; :envvar:`prefix` (``${prefix}``) and :envvar:`exec_prefix` (``${exec_prefix}``) are installation-dependent and should be interpreted as for GNU software; they may be the same. For example, on most Linux systems, the default for both is :file:`/usr`. +-----------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------+ | File/directory | Meaning | +===============================================+==========================================+ | :file:`{exec_prefix}/bin/python` | Recommended location of the interpreter. | +-----------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------+ | :file:`{prefix}/lib/python{version}`, | Recommended locations of the directories | | :file:`{exec_prefix}/lib/python{version}` | containing the standard modules. | +-----------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------+ | :file:`{prefix}/include/python{version}`, | Recommended locations of the directories | | :file:`{exec_prefix}/include/python{version}` | containing the include files needed for | | | developing Python extensions and | | | embedding the interpreter. | +-----------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------+ | :file:`~/.pythonrc.py` | User-specific initialization file loaded | | | by the user module; not used by default | | | or by most applications. | +-----------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------+ Miscellaneous ============= To easily use Python scripts on Unix, you need to make them executable, e.g. with :: $ chmod +x script and put an appropriate Shebang line at the top of the script. A good choice is usually :: #!/usr/bin/env python which searches for the Python interpreter in the whole :envvar:`PATH`. However, some Unices may not have the :program:`env` command, so you may need to hardcode ``/usr/bin/python`` as the interpreter path. To use shell commands in your Python scripts, look at the :mod:`subprocess` module. Editors and IDEs ================ There are a number of IDEs that support Python programming language. Many editors and IDEs provide syntax highlighting, debugging tools, and :pep:`8` checks. Please go to `Python Editors `_ and `Integrated Development Environments `_ for a comprehensive list.