Hi,
I am installing python on a PC that has only a CD ROM (no DVD). On suse10.0 install CD's there is Python with some modules, but no python-idle or "eric". As the work that I do with Python is intended for both the Linux and Windows worlds, I want to have IDLE in order to write Python scripts on that old PC.

The suse10.0 installation DVD has IDLE and "eric".

My question is, if I copy appropriate rpm files onto the CD media from the DVD, how can I install those packages onto a PC with CD ROM only. In particular, what do I need to do to resolve the conflicts, viz. missing tk, tkinter etc.?

I would be most grateful for some direction. All suggestions will be appreciated and I thank you in advance.

OldAl in down-under Canberra.

You might try installing apt4suse. Run apt update to get up to date lists of available packages from the SuSE apt repositories. Apt-get is the tool to download and install packages (including dependencies), but there is a -d option for 'download only'. So, apt-get -d python-idle (or whatever it's called in the repo), along with the dependencies, and burn them all to the same cd.

There is a program called pyshell:
which pyshell
/usr/bin/pyshell
jschiwal@hpmedia:~> rpm -qf /usr/bin/pyshell
python-wxGTK-2.6.2.1-20

Thank you for the suggestion. I have used apt on other occasions, but missed on the -d (download only) option. What bugs me is that the rpm for idle and all packages on which it depends are already in the DVD version, so it should be possible to extract the information from the DVD for installation onto a PC which only has CD-ROM.

Novell-suse also irks me by apparently excluding IDLE from the python package. The Python web site says clearly that IDLE is now part of the Python package, so why is it being removed by a distro? Or is it that my knowledge is too limited and I simply don't know where to find it?

Thank you again for your reply - it helps me to get to grips with these distro problems.

OldAl in down-under Canberra.

Thank you for your contribution. As I had not downloaded and installed the pyshell program, my rpm -qf dialog was somewhat different:

p4:/home/kabalg # rpm -qf /usr/bin/pyshell
error: file /usr/bin/pyshell: No such file or directory

I would think that you have downloaded the pyshell separately and installed that in addition to the stuff found in suse distro disks.

I have now downloaded the zip package of pyshell and will report my experience with it a little later. I admit that I would prefer python-idle, since it is:

1. Well tried and tested and is written originally by the Python master Guido van Rossum himself.
2. It is portable to the platform of the "elephant that has just gone to bed with a mouse", as well as other significant platforms.
3. There are numerous reference works that discuss python-idle.

Thank you for your answers - as always, greatly appreciated.

OldAl.

That is expected. I used this command to determine which package was needed as my system has pyshell on it.

If you have your disk you can find a file provided like:
rpm -q -all -p *.rpm | grep <file to find>
This will take a long time because it will print out all of the files in all of the RPM packages on the disc (or any directory).

By the way, idle is named after Eric Idle. You probably new that.

Thanks for that. I have **seen** this rpm command, but my memory is like a sieve... I certainly will try it.

No, I did not know about Eric Idle. IMHO he did a fine job, particularly since IDLE is available on most platforms. After all, we, Linux users, are still only a small minority. Important minority, but a minority, nevertheless.

Thanks again - very interesting.

OldAl.

Python is named after the comedy troop and not the snake. The author is a fan.


The -p option precedes the pathname to an RPM that you don't have installed. One of the most useful is in finding out which package supplied a particular file. For example:
rpm -qf /usr/share/doc/packages/xvid

Yes, Guido van Rossum. the "Daddy" of Python, mentions in one of his early writings that any reference to "Monty Python Flying Circus" is welcome :-)

For finding which rpm has the desired program (viz. IDLE) I have used suse Yast so far. It would probably pay to try alternative method, just in case the IDLE program is "hidden" somewhere else in the heap of stuff. So far I have not tried rpm command for anything serious, relying on Yast.

Thanks for your note,

OldAl
In cold Canberra morning. Temperature variation between mid-day and mid-night usually exceeds 20 degrees Centigrade!

Is this version OK?
ftp://ftp.pbone.net/mirror/ftp.opens...1-3.x86_64.rpm

Looking in YaST2 sw_single, I searched for python. There is a package called "eric" as in "Eric Idle". That sounds like that may be it.

Take a look at the website http://rpm.pbone.net . That is where I look for RPMs that I can't find on disc.