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Python in HTAs

Roger Irwin noemail at spam.net
Mon Oct 18 05:24:28 EDT 2004 
Marcel van den Dungen wrote:

> Robby Russell <robby at planetargon.com> wrote in message news:<mailman.5091.1098050399.5135.python-list at python.org>...
> 
>>This isn't going to work unless your browser has some special plugin to
>>allow python scripts to run in it. Google probably turned up nothing as
>>you might be one of the first people to consider this. ;-)
>>
>>-Robby
>>
> 
> Well, that would be too much credit ;-)
> PythonCard once shipped with 2 HTAs written in Python (Pyker.hta and
> PykerLaunch.hta). I managed to plug them from CVS, but could not get them
> to work either.
> 
> Why is it possible to use Python from ASP, but not from an HTA?
> 
> Thanks,
> Marcel
No expert on this, but ASP's run in the Server and hence a subset of the 
local environment, whilst HTA's run in the browser space. Not running in 
the sandbox means they can invoke applications, but none the less a 
browser cannot automatically launch a python script unless it knows how 
to launch it.

IMHO, an advantage of an HTA is that it is a generic form that isolates 
itself from specifics of the local environment and hence simplifies 
deployment. Instead of your application targetting a specific machine 
environment it is targeting a generic environment which is encapsulated 
in the browser and hence it is possible to create a specific environment 
which is isolated from local machine characteristics. OTOH, ASP's are 
targetting the http server environment which is usually an extension of 
the local machine.
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