If you don’t know iPython by now: check it out
It’s a pretty nice tool if you work with python from the terminal. Especially the easy way to get information about modules and functions. The easiest way to install (especially in a Mac environment) is to use the “alldeps” tarball.
deathstar-mac ~ $ wget http://ipython.scipy.org/dist/alldeps/ipython-alldeps-0.9.1.tar deathstar-mac ~ $ tar xvf ipython-alldeps-0.9.1.tar deathstar-mac ~ $ cd ipython-alldeps-0.9.1.tar deathstar-mac ~ $ make
The default install location is ~/usr/local. You may change this by modifying the install scripts but for now use the default. Now it’s time to make some modifications to your profile. Add the following lines:
deathstar-mac ~ $ export PATH="$PATH:/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/usr/local/bin" deathstar-mac ~ $ export PYTHONPATH=$PYTHONPATH:/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/usr/local/lib/python2.5/site-packages
Let’s complete the installation process:
deathstar-mac ~ $ iptest deathstar-mac ~ $ cd ipython-alldeps-0.9.1/ipython-0.9.1 deathstar-mac ~ $ python setup.py install --prefix=~/usr/local deathstar-mac ~ $ ipython Leopard libedit detected. Python 2.5.1 (r251:54863, Apr 15 2008, 22:57:26) Type "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information. IPython 0.9.1 -- An enhanced Interactive Python. ? -> Introduction and overview of IPython's features. %quickref -> Quick reference. help -> Python's own help system. object? -> Details about 'object'. ?object also works, ?? prints more. In [1]:
Enjoy!
