(Deutscher Text siehe separater Artikel)

K got the book Python für Kids. To enable him to use the book on OS X, I wanted to setup the Python environment on the Mac as on the PC: Install IDLE and, to hide the differences between integer and floating point math, configure to use the new division.

Installing IDLE on OS X 10.3 is easy with MacPython. IDLE comes as bundle, ready to be launched with the mouse from the Finder. But for using the new division without the need for from __future__ import division, IDLE must be started with options. How to embed these options in the IDLE.app bundle?

With the help of Jack Jansen and Andreas Glenn from the pythonmac-sig, I found out how:

  • Use the Finder to make a backup copy of /Applications/MacPython-2.3/IDLE, just in case you get something wrong

  • Open /Applications/MacPython-2.3/IDLE.app/Contents/MacOS/IDLE in your favourite editor

  • Insert two lines after the first sys.argv.insert line. It should look like this:

    sys.argv.insert(1, mainprogram)
sys.argv.insert(1, "-Qnew")
sys.argv.append("-n")

That’s it! You can launch IDLE from the Finder and verify that 5/2 equals 2.5 ;)

IDLE Screenshot