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MacPython/UniversalPython

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Differences between MacPython 2.4.1 and Universal Python 2.4.2:

  • /ApplicationsMacPython-2.4 is now /Applications/Python 2.4

  • PythonIDE, /PackageManager are gone. These applications have been deprecated for quite a long time, and depend on WASTE, which is somewhat non-free and is not available for x86.

  • select.poll and related constants exist on systems that have a correct poll implementation (definitely 10.4.4).
  • pythonw is now an executable that does an execv (instead of a script), so it may be used in #!scripts
  • All extensions and the framework are built universal for ppc and i386
  • The MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET defaults to 10.3, and extensions are built such that they will probably be compatible with 10.3.9+
  • Versions of Mac OS X prior to 10.3.9 are not supported with this build

Unfinished differences between MacPython 2.4.1 and Universal Python 2.4.2:

  • The Python HTML documentation is now in Python.framework/Versions/2.4/Doc/html, which IDLE knows about.

  • The python in the bin directory is now also pythonw, so pythonw is only necessary for legacy purposes.

  • The installer places the framework's bin directory on the PATH for normal shells

Patches in Universal Python 2.4.2 vs Python 2.4.2 source trees:

  • select.poll brokenness detection is moved from configure time to runtime
  • CONFIGURE_MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET is now MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET
  • distribution scripts have been rewritten in python rather than a hodgepodge of makefiles

  • /PythonLauncher is built without xcode/pbxbuild