

                                PYTHON 2.0
                          NOTES ON THE AMIGA PORT

                             October 28, 2000.

	
           Conversion and Amiga specific code by Irmen de Jong.
              (Original code by Guido van Rossum and others)



                   Read the file <DISCL_and_COPYRIGHT>!

   It contains the disclaimer for this software, and copyright notices.



	Contents:
	~~~~~~~~~

	1. What's new?	
	2. General remarks.
	3. Troubleshooting.
	4. Thanks.


+----------------------+
|                      |
|  1. What's new?      |
|                      |
+----------------------+

Well, this is Python version 2.0 (build 1)!
See the notes in Docs/NEWS for more information on what's new since the 1.x
versions. Be aware that there are a few language incompatibilities. Just check
out the regular Python 2.0 news on www.python.org to find out what they are.

This may very well be the last Python version I'm releasing for the Amiga.
My A4000 is getting old and rusty... And I figured Python 2.0 had to be
my last effort.


+----------------------+
|                      |
|  2. General remarks  |
|                      |
+----------------------+

* The MAIN PYTHON SITE is <http://www.python.org>. All general documentation
  can be obtained from here (Python tutorial, language reference, library
  reference and much more).

* The AmigaPython homepage is at http://www.bigfoot.com/~irmen/python.html
  (note the new address!). Check it out for news, future plans, bugs etc.

* In the `Docs/Amiga' directory you can find the docs for the Amiga specific
  modules and features. Read them, they contain vital information!

* The Python library contains an extensive test set.
  To try it yourself, type (after installation):
	Python -c "import test.autotest" (and have patience...)
	Python -c "import test.autotest" (and have patience...)
  (Yes: do it TWICE because the generated .pyc files need to be checked too).
  (You can also start the RunTest.py script from the Workbench).
  Some tests cannot run on the Amiga - they will be skipped.
  The report at the end should say something like:
	31 tests OK.
	18 tests skipped:  .....
  If you don't start AmiTCP first, test_socket and test_select will fail.
  If usergroup.library cannot be opened, crypt, grp and pwd will fail.

* To  see  some  command  line  options,  use  the -?  option, or any other
  unrecognised option.

* To run a speed benchmark, type:
	Python -c "import test.pystone; test.pystone.main()"
  and have some patience. On my system, I get 355 pystones/second.

* In the `Icons' directory there are some icon suggestions.
  def_py.info is an icon for Python source files (.py)
  def_pyc.info is an icon for Pytnon bytecode files (.pyc)

* Mail  me  if  you encounter any Amiga specific problems, or if you have any
  Amiga  related  questions  about  Python,  or  just  for fun.  General
  questions are better asked on the usenet newsgroup comp.lang.python.  A lot
  of   information,   including  an  online  manual,  can  be  obtained  from
  <http://www.python.org/>. Read the FAQ before asking!


+-----------------------+
|                       |
|  3. Troubleshooting   |
|                       |
+-----------------------+

* When  I  try  to  install  Python,  I  get  "Unable  to  open  your tool
  'installer'"!

  The Installer® utility is required for installation, but it is not included
  in  the  archive.   Get  it  from  somewhere  else  and  copy it to your C:
  directory or somewhere where Workbench can find it.

* When I start python, I get "This program requires a math co-processor"!

  You should upgrade your computer to at least a 68030 with a FPU.

* I   get   "Couldn't   open   bsdsocket.library"   or   "Couldn't   open
  usergroup.library" errors!

  You  are  trying to use functions that need one of these libraries.  AmiTCP
  is required if you want to use all (network) functions.

* Python crashes when executing complex (recursive) code!

  This should not happen; you should get a MemoryError exception.  If it does
  crash, increase your stack size and try again.  Python's default stack size
  is 40K, which should be enough for most programs.

* Functions which use the PIPE: device (like os.popen) seem to work
  incorrectly!

  The default l:queue-handler is buggy.  Make sure you have installed a fixed
  l:queue-handler (I'm using util/sys/HWGQueue.lha from Aminet)

* Other errors

  Mail me at irmen@bigfoot.com with a clear description of the problem.


+-----------------------+
|                       |
|  4. Thanks            |
|                       |
+-----------------------+

Ofcourse this product could never have happened without the support of various
people. Amongst others I'd like to thank:

Guido van Rossum - for creating Python in the first place
Mike Meyer for his various suggestions and problem reports
Kent Polk for his various suggestions and problem reports
Lyster E. Wick for his various contributions (NewIcons/ARexx/WB/bugreports)
Marc Christiansen for his detailed description of the strftime and
  amiga.crc32 problems (and persuading me to fix them)
Bablos to make me start polishing up the embedded python code.
Adam Chodorowski for a few new doslib functions.

And ofcourse thanks to my friends who supported me in the first phase of
this project and pushed me to continue this work (that was LONG ago, in the
Python 1.2 days).

If you think your name is missing here, drop me a line!

To every AmigaPython user out there: thanks for your interest!




					Irmen de Jong
					(irmen@bigfoot.com)
