ActivePython 2.1.1 Build 212 -- Release Notes

Welcome, and thanks for downloading ActivePython. This release corresponds to Python version 2.1. ActivePython includes the PPM package which allows users to easily download and install extensions to Python. Examples of extensions include new GUIs, numerical mathematics and SOAP support. Many extensions are available for each platform.

Binaries for the following platforms are available:


Installing ActivePython

ActivePython can be easily installed in each platform's native format.

Windows (x86)

The Windows package is in Microsoft Windows Installer (MSI) format. On Windows NT and Windows9x, you may need to download and install the MSI support package in order to begin the install process. Windows 2000 users do not need any additional software to install the package.

Do not install ActivePython to a directory with a space in the name. This causes problems on some variants of Windows with some service pack levels. We have not yet been able to compile a comprehensive list.

To install the package, simply find the directory containing the package with Explorer, and double-click on the MSI file.  If this does not work and you are using either Windows NT or Windows 9x this probably means that you need to download and install Microsoft's Windows Installer 1.1 from here:

    http://www.ActiveState.com/download/contrib/Microsoft/NT/InstMsi.exe
    http://www.ActiveState.com/download/contrib/Microsoft/9x/InstMsi.exe

It is recommended that you run the ActivePython installer (ActivePython-2.1.1.msi) with administrative privileges. This will allow other users to use ActivePython and will ensure that all of ActivePython's features function. Installing ActivePython without administrative privileges has the following limitations:

Depending on your needs this may not be a significant limitation.

Windows installation notes:

Installing ActivePython for Windows from the Command Line:

Introduction

You can install ActivePython from the command line using the 'msiexec' program. For example:

    c:\> msiexec /i <msi_file>

Selecting ActivePython Features

You can also control which ActivePython features are installed using the 'ADDLOCAL' command line property. This property may be set to a comma (,) delimited list of features to be installed locally. For instance:

    c:\> msiexec /i <msi_file> ADDLOCAL="ActivePython,Documentation"
ActivePython has the following features: By default all features of ActivePython are installed on Windows.

Configuring ActivePython

Command line properties may be specified to configure ActivePython installation options. For example:

    c:\> msiexec /i <msi_file> PROPERTY="foo bar baz"
The ActivePython MSI installer recognizes the following command line properties:

Running ActivePython Installer in Silent Mode

To run ActivePython installer in silent mode you need to specify the '/q' command line option. This causes the installer to run with no UI. For example:

    c:\> msiexec /i <msi_file> /q

Turning on Logging During ActivePython Installation

To turn on logging during ActivePython installation you need to specify the '/l' command line option. This option requires you to provide the name of the log file as an argument. For instance:

    c:\> msiexec /i <msi_file> /l <log_file>
You can turn on verbose logging by using the '*v' modifier with the '/l' command line option. For instance:
    c:\> msiexec /i <msi_file> /l*v <log_file>

Linux (x86)

RedHat 6.0
The RedHat-compatible package is in RPM format. This should be installed as root, using the following command:
    % rpm -i ActivePython-2.1.1-212.rpm

This package has been tested with RedHat 6.2, but is expected to be compatible with other RedHat 6.0 compatible installations as well.

Debian 2.1
The Debian-compatible package is in dpkg format. This should be installed as root, using the following command:
    % dpkg -i ActivePython-2.1.1-212.deb

This package has only been tested with Debian 2.1, but is expected to be compatible with other Debian 2.1 compatible installations as well.

 

Solaris (sparc)

The Solaris package is in pkgadd format. This should be installed as root, using the following commands:

    % gunzip ActivePython-2.1.1-212.gz
    % pkgadd -d ActivePython-2.1.1-212

This package has only been tested with Solaris 2.6, but is expected to be compatible with other Solaris 2.6 compatible installations as well, including Solaris 2.7.

 

Generic ActivePython Installers for Linux (x86) and Solaris (sparc)

These are the "AS" packages. Download the distribution to a temporary directory, extract the files, change to the ActivePython directory and then run the script `install.sh'. The installation script will prompt you for the target installation directory.

    % tar zxf ActivePython-2.1.1-212.tar.gz
    % cd ActivePython-2.1.1-212
    % ./install.sh
 

System Configuration

The Red Hat, Debian and Sun packages are installed into the /usr/local/ActivePython-2.1 directory. Add the /usr/local/ActivePython-2.1/bin directory to your PATH environment variable to conveniently access it. For example, in the C shell:

    % setenv PATH /usr/local/ActivePython-2.1/bin:$PATH

The generic ActivePython ("AS package") installer allows you to install the package anywhere that the user has write permission. Add the bin directory to your PATH environment variable to conveniently access it. For example, in the C shell (assuming you installed into /home/guido/python-2.1):

    % setenv PATH /home/guido/ActivePython-2.1/bin:$PATH

On Windows no extra system configuration is required.


Additional Python Extension Modules

Some extensions to Python are written in C /C++ and must be compiled for each platform. Many of these extension modules are available through the PPM facility. This is available with the command line "pyppm" or through the "Package Manager" link in the Windows Start Menu.

Note: ActivePython 2.1 is binary compatible with any other Python 2.1 distribution, so any third-party extensions compiled for Python 2.1 will work with ActivePython 2.1.  Extensions compiled for older version of Python (e.g. Python 1.5.2) will not work with ActivePython 2.1.


Built-In Python Extension Modules

This section describes the Python extension modules that come with ActivePython.

All Platforms

The following extensions are supported on all platforms:

Windows

The following additional extensions are supported on Windows:

Linux and Solaris

The following additional extensions are supported on Linux and Solaris:


Known Issues

This section lists known issues with ActivePython and Python for the various platforms.

All Platforms

Linux and Solaris

Windows


Further Information

The ActivePython distribution comes with extensive documentation.

On Unix platforms, all the standard documentation is installed as html pages under the Python install location in the html directory. So, if ActivePython is installed in /usr/local/ActivePython-2.1 then the HTML documentation would be located in /usr/local/ActivePython-2.1/html. 

On Windows, the standard documentation along with Windows-specific Python documentation is installed in Compiled Help (CHM) format, and is accessible from the ``Start'' menu (see Start -> Programs -> ActiveState ActivePython 2.1 -> Documentation)..

Updated versions of the HTML documentation will always be available at the ActiveState website:

    http://www.ActiveState.com/Products/ActivePython


Reporting Problems

Please report any problems you encounter with this release at the following location:

    http://bugs.ActiveState.com/ActivePython

If you do not have web access, reports can be also sent via email to ActivePython-Bugs@ActiveState.com. Please be sure to include detailed information about the platform in your message.

As far as possible, please ensure that there is enough information in the report to reproduce the bug elsewhere. It also helps to submit a minimal test case that exhibits the bug.