How to Install PythonCard on Linux From RPM's

Installing PythonCard on your Linux system requires the following steps:

  1. Ensure that you have a suitable version of Python installed.
  2. Download the wxPython RPM from the wxPython.org site.
  3. Download PythonCardPrototype RPM from the PythonCard site.
  4. Install wxPython.
  5. Install PythonCardPrototype.
  6. Confirm the installation works.

 

Check your Python version

PythonCardPrototype requires that you have Python 2.2.1 or higher installed. At the time of writing, it is known that Redhat Linux 7.3, 8.0 and 9.0 and Mandrake Linux versions 8.2, 9.0 and 9.1 install a suitable Python version by default.

To check what version you have installed, open up a shell session (xterm, konsole, gnome-terminal, etc, etc) and type the following:

$ python
Python 2.2.1 (#1, Dec  4 2002, 23:43:31)
[GCC 3.2 (Mandrake Linux 9.0 3.2-1mdk)] on linux-i386
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> (Type Ctrl-D here to exit)

This Linux system has Python 2.2.1 installed, so there's no problem here. :-)

 

Downloading the wxPython RPM

PythonCard relies on the wxPython package. Click on this wxPython 2.4.1.2 for Python 2.2.x link to begin the download. Tell your browser where you want the file stored and the download proceeds. Note where on your system the file is saved by your browser.

 

Downloading the PythonCard RPM

The latest version of the PythonCard RPM's are always available via the Linux2000 PythonCard page, and are also mirrored on the main Pythoncard site on SourceForge - click here to go to the download page. You will need to download the RPM which is appropriate for the Linux distribution you are using. At the time of writing, supported distributions include Redhat Linux versions 7.3, 8.0 and 9.0 and Mandrake Linux versions 8.2, 9.0 and 9.1.

For Redhat Linux 7.3, 8.0 and 9.0, the RPM you need to install is PythonCardPrototype-0.7.1-2.noarch.rpm.

For Mandrake Linux 8.2, 9.0 and 9.1, you should install PythonCardPrototype-0.7.1-2mdk.noarch.rpm.

Click the appropriate link to begin downloading the RPM. Tell your browser where you want the file stored and the download proceeds. Note where on your system the file is saved by your browser.

 

Installing the wxPython RPM

Type 'su -' and enter your root password when prompted. The command to install the RPM is:

rpm -Uvh /home/fred/wxPythonGTK-py2.2-2.4.1.2-1.i386.rpm

You should replace '/home/fred' with the full path to where your browser saved the downloaded RPM.

 

Installing PythonCardPrototype

The command to install the PythonCardPrototype RPM is pretty similar:

rpm -Uvh /home/fred/PythonCardPrototype-0.7.1-2mdk.noarch.rpm

Again, replace '/home/fred' with the full path to where your browser saved the RPM, and substitute the relevant RPM file name for you distribution.

 

Confirming Installation

We'll run the PythonCardPrototype "minimal" application to check that the installation seems OK. To run this, open a shell prompt as your normal user, and type the following:

/usr/share/PythonCardPrototype/samples/minimal/minimal.py

PythonCard minimal application window open to confirm installation is correct
Figure 1. PythonCard minimal application window open to confirm installation is correct

If you see any error messages in your shell prompt window at this stage, and it's not immediately obvious what the problem is, post a message to the PythonCard Users mailing list - see the bottom of this page for details.

Assuming that the minimal application starts up okay, you can browse the other PythonCard sample applications with the command:

/usr/share/PythonCardPrototype/samples/samples.py

 

PythonCardPrototype Menu Items (Mandrake Linux only)

Users of Mandrake Linux will find some new items on the window manager menu - the PythonCard resource editor will be found under Applications --> Development --> Development environments, whilst the PythonCard code editor and samples launcher will be found under Applications --> Development --> Tools.

 

If You Are Having Problems

Installing the software from RPM ought to be fairly straightforward. If for some reason either the RPM's won't install, or the minimal application doesn't run, go back over these instructions carefully. In particular, make sure that wxPython and PythonCardPrototype both appear in the site-packages folder in Python's Lib folder.

If everything seems OK and you still can't get minimal.py to launch, post a message to the PythonCard Users Mailing List. (If you aren't yet a member, visit the list management page and join.)


$Revision: 1.7 $, documentation updated on $Date: 2003/07/29 21:19:58 $ SourceForge Logo