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installing python — Parallax Forums

installing python

whiteoxewhiteoxe Posts: 794
edited 2014-03-28 14:06 in General Discussion
I run twopc's. I am asking ... is it easier to install python on my win 7 machine or on my liux machine. and why is java still the most popular languageon various studies and python about 6th /

also, can you writew a program in one language, say ruby or python and then use VB or C# for the user GUI ?

I have no clue how this would be compiled..do you use things like dll's to make it happen. What is a dll ??

Comments

  • icepuckicepuck Posts: 466
    edited 2014-03-28 08:13
    In ubuntu it would be...
    Sudo apt-get install python

    In debian....
    Su
    Then type in your root password
    Then...
    Apt-get install python
    And that will install the default version 2.7 I think.

    Window is little more complicated and you will have to google for that.
    -dan
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2014-03-28 08:31
    whiteoxe,
    ...is it easier to install python on my win 7 machine or on my liux machine
    Most Linux distributions have Python installed by default. Nuke the Windows and install Debian. Do not go near Ubuntu.
    ... why is java still the most popular languageon various studies and python about 6th /
    WARNING: Language War Alert!

    I have no idea. Java is old fashioned crude and horrible :)
    can you writew a program in one language, say ruby or python and then use VB or C# for the user GUI ?
    Normally not. Forget about all that legacy stuff like VB and C# (C# is just Java in disguise)

    However from Python you can use the Qt GUI library with the PyQt https://wiki.python.org/moin/PyQt (Do take note of the license terms on that)
    Or there is PySide https://qt-project.org/wiki/Category:LanguageBindings::PySide which may have better licensing terms for you.

    A "dll" is a library of functions that you can use within your program. A "Dynamic Link Library". The "dynamic" bit just means that the library and your code are not actually combined until you run the program. As opposed to a "static" library which is code combined with your program when you compile it.

    Linux has the same idea, there the called them shared libraries.
  • whiteoxewhiteoxe Posts: 794
    edited 2014-03-28 09:49
    thank you ice and heater !!

    I have a spare drive and I intend to use it to try and install a good linux and teach myself a lot more about Linux.

    Ive been searching google for a popular distro to install. One i looked at was PC Linux, as it had good reviews.

    I like the ubuntu software center which makes it super duper easy to install things.

    debian is rather low on the list of what google has told me are populasr distros.

    I do want to stay away from VB and C#, even though they are the only two languages i have any experience with.

    Plus I want to start using liux all the time.

    I know enough about how to program the prop and the librarfies are time saving , and the basic from basic stamp and picaxe. But i can probably program all those controllers from linux.

    I am thinking of python or ruby to know try and learn.

    Ive just installed xampp (apache and mysql) to develop a website on my own machine.

    Only just got it working under win 7 now ill have to get it working ubder Linux. geezzz :-)

    Thanks for your helf fellas. i think ill be watching a bit of youtube to help me.

    Last query, do you think i should program my fisrt website ,hosted on my own machine with ruby or python ? I want to pick one to learn. not both :)

    PS. i almost never play games on my PS# but i am really enjoying Grand theft auto, its a lot of fun even for a 48 year old like me (yesterday was my birthdasy :)
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2014-03-28 10:23
    VB or C# for a GUI? There are better ways to interface with the GUI, but I suspect you will learn faster and go farther in Linux.

    If you want to use Windows7, Microsoft wants cash and lots of it while you learn. Linux just wants you to learn.

    These days, Ubuntu has gotten a bit too special, so Debian is best. Python may already be active when you install it. Mine does. You can check in Synaptic Package Manager.

    Read all about Linux at DistroWatch.com

    Debian and Red Hat/Fedora are the two main forks of Linux.

    Distrowatch can be deceptive about what is really popular. They rate Mageia #4 and it is an absurdly high rank for such a poor distribution. Not sure that Wikipedia reflects reality any better.

    Beyond Ubuntu 12.04 has begun to not play nice with legacy software - in particular, Brad's Spin Tool for the Propeller. People have used Mint, but I personally dislike Mint.

    Just about everyone that gets serious about Linux goes through six months of trying out different distributions and intensive reading of DistroWatch. It won't hurt you, but you will find yourself making a lot of LiveCDs or LiveDVDs and reloading your Linux several times.

    You can keep the Windows 7 on your machine if you are willing to partition the hard disk and do a dual boot configuration. I have done so with XP, Vista, and Windows 7.

    In fact, Linux will allow you to at least examine and read your Windows files in the Windows partitions. That can be very handy during a migration to Linux.

    Consider using Libre Office, instead of MS Office for all and everything mundane.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2014-03-28 10:45
    If you want a server, get a free copy of the LInux Systems Administrator pdf. Also , look for a free download of NoStarch Press's "How Linux Works: What every superuser should know" by Brian Ward. It is a bit outdated, but still a very good entry. Not too old to be useful.
  • whiteoxewhiteoxe Posts: 794
    edited 2014-03-28 10:47
    What do you think about SuSE ?
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2014-03-28 10:53
    Windows machines can install Python pretty easily too. Google ActiveState Python which has a free distribution. There are others, but I've found it pretty stable.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2014-03-28 11:17
    whiteoxe wrote: »
    What do you think about SuSE ?

    SuSE is very popular in Europe as a business machine OS. Like Red Hat, there is a tendency to provide the best to paying subscribers. But also, like Red Hat/Fedora, there has been some discussion that they have backed down from intimidation from Microsoft.

    Red Hat is in the USA, so they won't provide a lot of features that Microsoft might lay claim to. They just have too much legal exposure. So you have to find fixes for watching videos and listening to music -- or buy suggested software.

    SuSE doesn't have this legal problem, but did at one time give up some ground to MS due to association with NOVELL, which was originally a USA outfit.

    You would have to use openSuSE or pay for the regular SuSE.

    Oddly, Linus Torvalds supposedly uses Fedora Linux on all his machines at this time.

    Read more at DistroWatch.com


  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2014-03-28 13:18
    whiteoxe,

    I don't know, there seems to be thousands of Linux distributions today. Many of them, like Ubuntu, are based off Debian. Others are based off RedHat. And so on.

    Never heard of "PC Linux". Popularity is not the final arbiter of "best". Depends what you want to do.

    For me it's Debian. Ubuntu just takes Debian and breaks it in many interesting ways. Canonical are not so great at donating their wondeful changes back to Linux or Debian. Boo to them.

    I see no need for the "Ubuntu software center" what ever that is. Debian has tens of thousands of packages that are easily installable from a simple command line interface:
    $ apt-get install whateverPackage
    
    I have no idea about Ruby. Python is a wonderful language even if I hate the idea of white space block delimiting.

    Nah, forget Ruby, Python is good to go. Works on the server and is very useful all around.

    Never mind about games. Last game I spent any time on was Star Glider on an Atari ST 520. We won't talk about how many years ago that was.
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2014-03-28 13:37
    Ruby is an interesting mix of some good ideas, some interesting ideas, and a few spectacularly bad ideas. The good and interesting are its meta programming features which allow something like Ruby on Rails to work. The bad is the way Ruby programmers like to overload methods on built in types which can make understanding code hard.
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2014-03-28 14:06
    What do you want to do? (just thought I'd ask)

    Are you setting up Linux just so you can have a Python environment?

    Activestate Python for Windows is very good and very easy to install.
    There is a very nice Windows IDE for Python called PyScripter

    If you are a Visual Studio user, Microsoft has created Python Tools for Visual Studio which is a very impressive (and free) integration of Pythyon into the Visual Studio IDE.

    If you want a Linux, I'd pick one of the Debian based distributions. I'm currently using Linux Mint and have been happy with it. Everybody has their favorite and finds fault with others and others. I think most people try a few when starting.

    If I were going to do it again on learning languages (not that you ever really stop), I'd go with Javascript and node.js (basically Javascript for the server side). My second choice would be Python, it's currently my first choice because my brain can't handle another language). It's a good general purpose language that can grow with you as you learn more about it but can start off very simply. It also let's you play with it interactively which is a big plus for any language in my book (Ruby, Javascript and others also allow this).

    Again, what kinds of things do you want to do?
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