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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 Some of these documents were actually written a long time ago and have seen
  31 little maintainance, so use with care. <p>
  32
  33 <H2>Table of contents</H2>
  34
  35 <UL>
  36 <LI>
  37 <A HREF="example0.html">Using python to create Macintosh applications,
  38 part zero</A> whets your appetite by showing you how to ask the user
  39 for a filename, and how to display a message. It explains about end-of-line
  40 confusion while doing so.
  41
  42 <LI>
  43 <A HREF="example1.html">Using python to create Macintosh applications,
  44 part one</A> explains how to create a simple modal-dialog application
  45 in Python. It also takes a glance at using the toolbox modules Res and
  46 Dlg, and EasyDialogs for simple question-dialogs.
  47
  48 <LI>
  49 <A HREF="example2.html">Using python to create Macintosh applications,
  50 part two</A> turns the previous example program into a more complete
  51 mac application, using a modeless dialog, menus, etc. It also explains
  52 how to create applets, standalone applications written in Python.
  53
  54 <LI>
  55 <A HREF="freezing.html">Freezing Python programs</A> extends on this concept,
  56 and shows you how to create applications that can be used on machines without
  57 a full Python installed. This one is probably best skipped on first contact
  58 with MacPython.
  59
  60 <LI>
  61 <A HREF="textedit.html">Using FrameWork and TextEdit</A> shows you
  62 how to use <code>FrameWork</code> application framework and the
  63 <code>TextEdit</code> toolbox to build a text editor.
  64
  65 <LI>
  66 <A HREF="waste.html">Using WASTE</A> expands on this editor by using
  67 WASTE, an extended TextEdit replacement.
  68
  69 <LI>
  70 <A HREF="plugins.html">Creating a C extension module on the Macintosh</A>
  71 is meant for the hardcore programmer, and shows how to create an
  72 extension module in C. It also handles using Modulator to create the
  73 boilerplate for your module, and creating dynamically-loadable modules
  74 on PowerPC Macs.
  75
  76 <LI>
  77 <A HREF="applescript.html">Using Open Scripting Architecture from Python</A> explains
  78 how to create a Python module interfacing to a scriptable application,
  79 and how to use that module in your python program.
  80
  81 <LI>
  82 <A HREF="cgi.html">Using python to create CGI scripts</A> is a preliminary
  83 introduction to writing CGI scripts in Python and to writing scriptable applications
  84 in Python.
  85
  86 <LI>
  87 <A HREF="building.html">Building Mac Python from source</A> explains
  88 how to build a PPC or 68K interpreter from a source distribution.
  89
  90 <LI>
  91 <A HREF="embed.html">Embedding Python on the Mac</A> is a minimal example of
  92 how to embed Python in other Mac applications.
  93
  94 </UL>
  95
  96 The Python distribution contains a few more examples, all unexplained:
  97 <UL>
  98 <LI>
  99 <I>PICTbrowse</I> is an application that locates PICT
 100 resources and displays them, it demonstrates some quickdraw and the
 101 resource and list managers. In the same folder you will find the very
 102 similar scripts ICONbrowse and cicnbrowse.
 103
 104 <LI>
 105 <I>Imgbrowse</I> displays image files in
 106 many different formats (gif, tiff, pbm, etc). It shows how to use the
 107 img modules on the mac.
 108
 109 <LI>
 110 <I>Quicktime</I> has the standard <code>MovieInWindow</code> and
 111 <code>VerySimplePlayer</code> examples, re-coded in Python.
 112
 113 <LI>
 114 <I>Resources</I>, <I>Sound</I> and <I>Speech</I> have some examples
 115 on using the respective managers. In the <i>Mac:Lib</i> folder you
 116 will also find modules that do useful things with the Communications
 117 Toolbox, the Finder interface, etc.
 118
 119 <LI>
 120 <I>Printing</I> has an example on using the Printing module to, you guessed
 121 it, print from Python. The code is somewhat self-documenting. Donated
 122 by Just van Rossum, who also donated the Printing module itself.
 123 </UL>
 124
 125 At some point in the (possibly distant) future, I will add chapters on
 126 how to use bgen to create modules completely automatic and how to make
 127 your Python program scriptable, but that will have to wait. <p>
 128
 129 <HR>
 130
 131 Please let me know if you miss critical information in this
 132 document. I am quite sure that I will never find the time to turn it
 133 into a complete MacPython programmers guide (which would probably be a
 134 400-page book instead of 10 lousy html-files), but it should contain
 135 at least the information that is neither in the standard Python
 136 documentation nor in Inside Mac or other Mac programmers
 137 documentation. <p>
 138
 139 <HR>
 140 <A HREF="http://www.cwi.nl/~jack">Jack Jansen</A>,
 141 <A HREF="mailto:jack@cwi.nl">jack@cwi.nl</A>, 26-Jun-98.
 142 </BODY></HTML>