> Question 1: If someone already has installed Python but did not check
this box on, is there some simple command line magic to do whatever this
checkbox does? If so, what do I need to tell my student to do?
With a python 3.X installed they need replace 'python' by 'py -3.X' in
the cmdline.
Examples, for a python 3.7 installation:
To invoke the interactive interpreter:
py -3.7
To run a script:
py -3.7 myscript.py
Another difference with unix-like OSes is that the python's Scripts
directory is not on the path, so pip (and other commands in Scripts) need a
full qualified path in the command, like
c:\python37\Scripts\pip install ...
or the alternative form
py -3.7 -m pip install ..
I don't know if it would be better to work from a venv:
Create venv
py -3.7 -m venv venv_path
Activate
venv_path\Scripts\activate
After that, in that console 'python' would be the python in the venv, and
venv_path\Scripts will be in the PATH, so commands like 'pip', 'pytest',
etc would work fine.
To deactivate the venv:
deactivate
> Question 2: If someone does not have Python installed yet (or wants to
install a newer version), what is the most recent version of Python (Mac
and Windows) that I should ask them to install today? I understand that
there is a big effort to get the 2.0 version of Pygame out, but I want my
students to use version 1.9 for now. If they install the current version
of Python: 3.9, will they be able to use pip to install a working version
of pygame 1.9? (Last time I checked, this did not work correctly?
python 3.8 has been tested more time; also 3.9 is not compatible with
windows7, which maybe some students have in their house.
On Fri, Oct 23, 2020 at 7:08 PM Irv Kalb <i...@furrypants.com> wrote:
> I am teaching a Python class, where I use pygame to demonstrate OOP
> concepts. I need to have my students get the proper environment to run
> Python with pygame.
>
> I use a Mac, and I have Python 3.7.3, and pygame 1.9.6 installed.
> Everything works fine for me. But I have students who either have Python
> already installed and need to install pygame, or who need to install both
> Python and pygame.
>
> I am not a Windows user, and I typically don't use the command line for
> anything other than installations. My understanding is that if you are on
> Windows, and you want to use pygame, then during the installation of
> Python, when the installation puts up dialog box about installing Python,
> you must check the checkbox at the bottom that says:
>
> Add Python 3.x to PATH
>
> Question 1: If someone already has installed Python but did not check
> this box on, is there some simple command line magic to do whatever this
> checkbox does? If so, what do I need to tell my student to do?
>
> Question 2: If someone does not have Python installed yet (or wants to
> install a newer version), what is the most recent version of Python (Mac
> and Windows) that I should ask them to install today? I understand that
> there is a big effort to get the 2.0 version of Pygame out, but I want my
> students to use version 1.9 for now. If they install the current version
> of Python: 3.9, will they be able to use pip to install a working version
> of pygame 1.9? (Last time I checked, this did not work correctly?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Irv
>
>
>
