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   1 <HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Macintosh Python crash course</TITLE></HEAD>
   2 <BODY>
   3 <H1><IMG SRC="html.icons/python.gif">Macintosh Python crash course</H1>
   4 <HR>
   5
   6 This set of documents provides an introduction to various aspects of
   7 Python programming on the Mac. It is assumed that the reader is
   8 already familiar with Python and, to some extent, with MacOS Toolbox
   9 programming. Other readers may find something interesting here too,
  10 your mileage may vary. <p>
  11
  12 There is a companion document <a href="using.html">Using Python on the Mac</a>
  13 which you should read before starting here: it explains the basics of using
  14 python on the Macintosh. <p>
  15
  16 Another set of Macintosh-savvy examples, more aimed at beginners, is
  17 maintained by Joseph Strout, at <A
  18 HREF="http://www-acs.ucsd.edu/~jstrout/python/">
  19 http://www-acs.ucsd.edu/~jstrout/python/</A>.
  20 <P>
  21
  22 The <a href="http://www.python.org/doc/lib/Top.html">Python Library
  23 Reference</a> contains a section on <a
  24 href="http://www.python.org/doc/lib/Macintosh-Specific-Services.html">Macintosh-specific
  25 modules</a> that you should also read. Documentation is also available
  26 in PostScript and other forms, see the <a
  27 href="http://www.python.org/doc/">documentation</a> section on the
  28 webserver. <p>
  29
  30 The W widget set by Just van Rossum, which is used by the Python IDE, does not
  31 have complete documentation as of this writing, but Corran Webster has
  32 documented most of it on his
  33 <A HREF="http://www.nevada.edu/~cwebster/Python/">Python Page</A>. <p>
  34
  35 There are also some documentation links, as well as other MacPython-related
  36 pages, in the
  37 <A HREF="http://dmoz.org/Computers/Systems/Macintosh/Development/Scripting/Python/">
  38 Open Directory</A>.
  39
  40
  41 <H2>Table of contents</H2>
  42
  43 <blockquote><B>Note:</B>
  44 Some of these documents were actually written a long time ago and have seen
  45 little maintainance, so use with care. </blockquote>
  46 <UL>
  47 <LI>
  48 <A HREF="example0.html">Using python to create Macintosh applications,
  49 part zero</A> whets your appetite by showing you how to ask the user
  50 for a filename, and how to display a message. It explains about end-of-line
  51 confusion while doing so.
  52
  53 <LI>
  54 <A HREF="example1.html">Using python to create Macintosh applications,
  55 part one</A> explains how to create a simple modal-dialog application
  56 in Python. It also takes a glance at using the toolbox modules Res and
  57 Dlg, and EasyDialogs for simple question-dialogs.
  58
  59 <LI>
  60 <A HREF="example2.html">Using python to create Macintosh applications,
  61 part two</A> turns the previous example program into a more complete
  62 mac application, using a modeless dialog, menus, etc. It also explains
  63 how to create applets, standalone applications written in Python.
  64
  65 <LI>
  66 <A HREF="freezing.html">Freezing Python programs</A> extends on this concept,
  67 and shows you how to create applications that can be used on machines without
  68 a full Python installed. This one is probably best skipped on first contact
  69 with MacPython.
  70
  71 <LI>
  72 <A HREF="textedit.html">Using FrameWork and TextEdit</A> shows you
  73 how to use <code>FrameWork</code> application framework and the
  74 <code>TextEdit</code> toolbox to build a text editor.
  75
  76 <LI>
  77 <A HREF="waste.html">Using WASTE</A> expands on this editor by using
  78 WASTE, an extended TextEdit replacement.
  79
  80 <LI>
  81 <A HREF="plugins.html">Creating a C extension module on the Macintosh</A>
  82 is meant for the hardcore programmer, and shows how to create an
  83 extension module in C. It also handles using Modulator to create the
  84 boilerplate for your module, and creating dynamically-loadable modules
  85 on PowerPC Macs. It assumes you use CodeWarrior for you development.
  86
  87 <LI>
  88 <A HREF="mpwextensions.html">Creating C extension modules using MPW</A>
  89 is a companion document, written by Corran Webster, which explains how you
  90 can develop Python extensions using Apple's free MPW compiler environment.
  91
  92 <LI>
  93 <A HREF="applescript.html">Using Open Scripting Architecture from Python</A> explains
  94 how to create a Python module interfacing to a scriptable application,
  95 and how to use that module in your python program.
  96
  97 <LI>
  98 <A HREF="cgi.html">Using python to create CGI scripts</A> is a preliminary
  99 introduction to writing CGI scripts in Python and to writing scriptable applications
 100 in Python.
 101
 102 <LI>
 103 <A HREF="building.html">Building Mac Python from source</A> explains
 104 how to build a PPC or 68K interpreter from a source distribution.
 105
 106 <LI>
 107 <A HREF="embed.html">Embedding Python on the Mac</A> is a minimal example of
 108 how to embed Python in other Mac applications.
 109
 110 </UL>
 111
 112 The Python distribution contains a few more examples, all unexplained:
 113 <UL>
 114 <LI>
 115 <I>PICTbrowse</I> is an application that locates PICT
 116 resources and displays them, it demonstrates some quickdraw and the
 117 resource and list managers. In the same folder you will find the very
 118 similar scripts ICONbrowse and cicnbrowse. oldPICTbrowse is the same program
 119 but form the pre-Appearance era, it uses a dialog with a user item and
 120 creates and manages its own List object.
 121
 122 <LI>
 123 <I>Imgbrowse</I> displays image files in
 124 many different formats (gif, tiff, pbm, etc). It shows how to use the
 125 img modules on the mac.
 126
 127 <LI>
 128 <I>Quicktime</I> has the standard <code>MovieInWindow</code> and
 129 <code>VerySimplePlayer</code> examples, re-coded in Python.
 130
 131 <LI>
 132 <I>Resources</I>, <I>Sound</I> and <I>Speech</I> have some examples
 133 on using the respective managers. In the <i>Mac:Lib</i> folder you
 134 will also find modules that do useful things with the Communications
 135 Toolbox, the Finder interface, etc.
 136
 137 <LI>
 138 <I>Printing</I> has an example on using the Printing module to, you guessed
 139 it, print from Python. The code is somewhat self-documenting. Donated
 140 by Just van Rossum, who also donated the Printing module itself.
 141 </UL>
 142
 143 At some point in the (possibly distant) future, I will add chapters on
 144 how to use bgen to create modules completely automatic and how to make
 145 your Python program scriptable, but that will have to wait. <p>
 146
 147 <HR>
 148
 149 Please let me know if you miss critical information in this
 150 document. I am quite sure that I will never find the time to turn it
 151 into a complete MacPython programmers guide (which would probably be a
 152 400-page book instead of 10 lousy html-files), but it should contain
 153 at least the information that is neither in the standard Python
 154 documentation nor in Inside Mac or other Mac programmers
 155 documentation. <p>
 156
 157 <HR>
 158 <A HREF="http://www.cwi.nl/~jack">Jack Jansen</A>,
 159 <A HREF="mailto:jack@cwi.nl">jack@cwi.nl</A>, 22-Apr-00.
 160 </BODY></HTML>