This page tells you how to setup a Python programming environment for your Mac OS X computer and provides a step-by-step guide for creating and running a simple 'Hello, world' Python program. All of the software is freely available on the Web. These instructions are for MacOS X 10.13 (High Sierra), but the instructions for other recent versions of Mac OS X are similar.
It depends on what you mean by “compile”, first. Since Python code runs in a VM, all python code is compiled into instructions for that VM. You can even see that compiled code in “.pyc” files. Price: US $ 199 per User – 1st year for Professional Developer. Platform Support.
Overview
The Python programming environment required by this booksite consists of:
- Python, that is, the Python compiler/interpreter.
- The Python standard libraries.
- IDLE, the Python Integrated DeveLopment Environment.
- The Tkinter, NumPy, and Pygame libraries, which are used by the booksite programs that do graphics or audio processing.
- The booksite library, that is, a set of modules that we developed specifically to support this booksite.
- The Terminal application that is bundled with Mac OS X.
Downloading and Installing Python, IDLE, Tkinter, NumPy, and Pygame
Note: The Mac Finder application uses the term folder to mean a container of documents and, perhaps, other folders. This document instead uses the equivalent Unix term directory. |
Python 2 is bundled with Mac OS X. However, Python 3 is not. We recommend that you download and install Python 3, and use Python 3 exclusively when running programs associated with this booksite.
Perform these steps to download and install Python, IDLE, Tkinter, NumPy, and PyGame:
- Browse to the Python for Mac download page.
- In the resulting page click on the Download Python 3.6.5 button. Your browser will download the file
python-3.6.5-macosx10.6.pkg
to yourDownloads
directory. - Using Mac Finder Manager, navigate to your
Downloads
directory, and double-click on thepython-3.6.5-macosx10.6.pkg
file to install Python, Tkinter, and IDLE. Use the default options. (It's OK to delete thepython-3.6.5-macosx10.6.pkg
file after the installation is complete.) - Open a Terminal window. To do that, click on the Spotlight Search icon on the right end of the menu bar. (It has the appearance of a magnifying glass.) In the resulting dialog box, type
Terminal.app
followed by the Enter key. - In the Terminal window issue these commands to install NumPy and PyGame:
To 'issue a command' you should type the command followed by the Enter key. |
Perform these steps to test your installation:
- In the Terminal window issue the
python3
command. You should see something like this: - If you see that output, then your installation of Python, IDLE, and Tkinter was successful.
- At the Python
>>>
prompt, typeimport numpy
followed by theEnter
key. If no error messages appear, then your installation of NumPy was successful.Quick draw app mac. QuickDraw is the 2D graphics library and associated Application Programming Interface (API) which is a core part of the classic Mac OS operating system. It was initially written by Bill Atkinson and Andy Hertzfeld. QuickDraw still existed as part of the libraries of Mac OS X, but had been largely superseded by the more modern Quartz graphics system. - At the Python
>>>
prompt, typeimport pygame
followed by theEnter
key. If no error messages appear, then your installation of PyGame was successful. - At the Python
>>>
prompt, typeexit()
followed by theEnter
key to exit Python. - In the Terminal window issue the command
idle3
. If an IDLE window appears, then you have installed IDLE properly. Close the IDLE window. - Close the Command Prompt window.
IMPORTANT: When running the Python programs associated with this booksite, do not issue the python command. Instead issue the python3 command. The former command runs the Python 2 compiler/interpreter that is bundled with Mac OS X; the latter command runs the Python 3 compiler/interpreter that you installed by following the instructons on this page. |
Downloading and Installing the Booksite Library
Perform these steps to download and install the booksite library:
- Use your Web browser to download this introcs-1.0.zip file to your
/Users/yourusername/Downloads
directory. - In the Finder, double click on
/Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-1.0.zip
to unzip the file, thus creating a directory named/Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-1.0
. (It's OK to delete the/Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-1.0.zip
file after you have unzipped it.) - Open a Terminal window.
- At any time the Terminal application has a working directory. Initially the working directory is
/Users/yourusername
. In the Terminal window issue thecd Downloads
command to change your working directory to/Users/yourusername/Downloads
, and then issue thecd introcs-1.0
command to change your working directory to/Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-1.0
. (Incidentally, thecd .
command changes your working directory to the 'parent' of the current working directory.) - Issue the
ls
command to display the names of all files in your working directory. Make sure that a file namedsetup.py
is in your working directory. - Issue the
python3 setup.py install --user
command. The computer copies the files defining the booksite modules to a directory where Python can find them, and writes status messages to your Terminal window to indicate its progress.
Perform these steps to test your installation of the booksite library:
- In the Terminal window issue the
python3
command. - At the Python
>>>
prompt, type the statementimport stdio
followed by the Enter key. If Python generates no error messages, then you have installed the booksite library properly. - At the Python
>>>
prompt, typeexit()
followed by the Enter key to exit Python. - Close the Terminal window.
Configuring IDLE
So far you've downloaded and installed all of the software that you'll need. You should perform one more step before creating your first program: configure the IDLE programming environment. Follow these instructions:
- Open a Terminal window.
- In the Terminal window issue the command
idle3
to launch IDLE. - Click on the Python → Preferences.. menu item.
- Click on the General tab.
- Click on the Open Edit Window radio button.
- Click on the Ok button.
- Close the IDLE window. Pdf watermark app mac.
- Close the Terminal window.
Composing Your First Program
![Compile Python App Mac Compile Python App Mac](/uploads/1/3/4/0/134067881/304474062.png)
Having installed Python, the Python standard libraries, IDLE, Tkinter, NumPy, Pygame, and the booksite libraries, and having configured IDLE, you are ready to compose your first Python program. Perform these instructions:
- Using the Mac Finder, create a directory named
/Users/yourusername/hello
. - Open a Terminal window.
- Issue the
cd hello
command to make the/Users/yourusername/hello
directory your working directory. - Issue the command
idle3 &
to launch IDLE. Note the trailing ampersand. The trailing ampersand tells the computer to run theidle3
program in the background, thereby leaving your Terminal application free to handle additional commands while IDLE is running. - In IDLE, type the four-line Python program helloworld.py exactly as it appears below. Use the arrow keys, mouse, or touchpad to move within the text that you have typed. Use the Delete key to delete text. Be careful; the smallest typing mistake might cause the program to fail.
- When you are finished typing, in IDLE click on the File → Save.. menu item to save the Python program. Save it in a file named
helloworld.py
in the directory/Users/yourusername/hello
. The file name is case sensitive, so make sure you use all lowercase letters.
Running Your First Program
The final step is to run your program. It is possible to run some Python programs from within IDLE, but you should run the programs associated with this booksite directly from a Terminal window. To do that, perform these steps:
- Within the same Terminal window, issue the
ls
command to display the names of all files in the working directory. Confirm that the working directory contains yourhelloworld.py
file. - Issue the
python3 helloworld.py
command to run your program. If the computer writes 'Hello, World' to the Terminal window, then the execution of yourhelloworld.py
program was successful. If the computer instead writes error messages, then use IDLE to correct your program, and issue thepython3 helloworld.py
command again. Repeat until your program runs successfully. If your program runs successfully the first time you try, then intentionally introduce an error into your program, just so you get some experience with correcting errors. - Close the IDLE window.
- Close the Terminal window.
You now have installed and configured a reasonable Python environment, and have used it to compose and run a Python program. Congratulations! You are a Python programmer!
Downloading the Booksite Example Programs (optional)
We recommend that you download the booksite example programs, that is, the example Python programs that are presented incrementally throughout the booksite. Having done so, you can run those programs to help you learn about them. Perform these instructions:
- Use your Web browser to download this introcs-python.zip file to your
/Users/yourusername/Downloads
directory. - In the Mac Finder, double-click on
/Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-python.zip
to unzip the file, thus creating the/Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-python
directory containing the booksite example programs. (It's OK to delete the/Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-python.zip
file after you have unzipped it.)
Then perform these steps to test your download of the booksite example programs:
- Open a Terminal window.
- Issue the
cd Downloads
andcd introcs-python
commands to make/Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-python
your working directory. - Issue the
ls
command. Confirm that the working directory contains a file namedbouncingball.py
. - Issue the
python3 bouncingball.py
command. If Python launches a stddraw window showing an animated bouncing ball, then your download of the booksite example programs was successful. - Close the stddraw window.
- Close the Terminal window.
Downloading the Booksite Example Data (optional)
We recommend that you download the booksite example data, that is, the data files used by the booksite example programs that are presented incrementally throughout the booksite. Perform these instructions:
- Use your Web browser to download this introcs-data.zip file to your
/Users/yourusername/Downloads
directory. - In the Finder, double-click on
/Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-data.zip
to unzip the file, thus creating the/Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-data
directory containing the booksite example data files. (It's OK to delete the/Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-data.zip
file after you have unzipped it.)
Downloading the Booksite Library: Part 2 (optional)
Previously on this page we described how to download and install the booksite library so Python can find it. Now we describe how to download the booksite library so you can find it — for the sake of studying the code that implements it, should you so desire. Perform these instructions:
- Use your Web browser to download this stdlib-python.zip file to your
/Users/yourusername/Downloads
directory. - In the Mac Finder, double-click on
/Users/yourusername/Downloads/stdlib-python.zip
to unzip the file, thus creating the/Users/yourusername/Downloads/stdlib-python
directory containing the booksite library. (It's OK to delete the/Users/yourusername/Downloads/stdlib-python.zip
file after you have unzipped it.)
We invite you to study the code that implements the booksite library. But don't be concerned if some of the code is cryptic. The code that implements the booksite library uses some features of Python that are beyond the scope of the textbook and this booksite.
Q & A
Q. Why do I get the error
ImportError: No module named stdio
when I issue the command python program_that_uses_stdio.py
?A. You must issue the command
python3 program_that_uses_stdio.py
, as described above.Q. I downloaded files using my browser, but can't find them. Where are they?
A. Many browsers by default place downloaded files in the directory
/Users/yourusername/Downloads
.Q. How do I break out of an infinite loop when running my program from the Terminal application?
A. Type Ctrl-c. That is, while pressing the Ctrl key, type the c key.
Q. Must I use IDLE to create my Python programs? Can I use some other text editor?
A. You need not use IDLE to create your Python programs; it is fine to use some other text editor. For example, it is reasonable to use the TextEdit editor that is bundled with Mac OS X. However if you do use some other text editor, then make sure you change its settings so it (1) uses a four-space indentation scheme, and (2) indents using spaces instead of tabs. The Wikipedia Comparison of text editors page provides summary descriptions of many text editors.
In this tutorial we’ll be using py2app to create a standalone OSX application from a Python 2 or 3 source code with asimple Tkinter user interface.
'py2app is a Python setuptools command which will allow you to make standalone application bundles and plugins from Python scripts. py2app is similar in purpose and design to py2exe for Windows.'
Relevant links about py2app:
- Source on BitBucket (last commit 2015-05-05)
- Issue Tracker, Mailing List
This guide is loosely based on the official tutorial.Based on a Python file called
Sandwich.py
, we’ll create an application called Sandwich.app
.Prerequisites
Create a custom directory and create a virtualenv:
Now create a very simple Tkinter app with the filename
Sandwich.py
:This little app will look like this:
Install py2app
The original version of py2app has a bug due to a newer version of ModuleGraph. Imade a fork of the project and fixed this bug on Github.Install it with pip like this:
Create a setup.py
file
Python For Mac
py2app includes
py2applet
, a helper which generates a setup.py file for you:This
setup.py
is a basic definition of the app:If your application uses some data files, like a JSON, text files or images, you should include them in DATA_FILES. For example:
Build the app for development and testing
py2app builds the standalone application based on the definition in
setup.py
.For testing and development, py2app provides an “alias mode”, which builds anapp with symbolic links to the development files:
This creates the following files and directories:
This is not a standalone application, and the applications built in alias mode are not portable to other machines!
The app built with alias mode simply references the original code files, so any changes you make to the original
Sandwich.py
file are instantly available on the next app start.The resulting development app in
dist/Sandwich.app
can be opened just like any other .app with the Finderor the open command ($ open dist/Sandwich.app
). To run your application directly from the Terminalyou can just run:Building for deployment
When everything is tested you can produce a build for deployment with a calling
python setup.py py2app
. Make sure that any old build
and dist
directories are removed:This will assemble your application as
dist/Sandwich.app
. Since this application is self-contained, you will have to run the py2app command again any time you change any source code, data files, options, etc.The original py2app has a bug which would display “
AttributeError: 'ModuleGraph' object has no attribute 'scan_code'
” or load_module
. If you encounter this error, takea look at this StackOverflow thread or use my fork of py2app.The easiest way to wrap your application up for distribution at this point is simply to right-click the application from Finder and choose “Create Archive”.
Adding an icon
Simply add
'iconfile': 'youricon.icns'
to the OPTIONS
dict:You can find free icons in icns format around the web (eg. on IconFinder or freepik).
Advanced app settings
You can tweak the application information and behaviour with modificationsto the
Info.plist
. The most complete reference for the keys available is Apple’s Runtime Configuration Guidelines.Here is an example with more modifications:
With these settings, the app will have the following infos:
References
- py2app documentation, examples
- Tkinter, Tkinter resource collection, An Introduction to Tkinter
Python Mac Gui
See Also
- PyInstaller - Another tool to create cross-platform standalone apps (libraries like PyQt, Django or matplotlib are fully supported)
- rumps - Ridiculously Uncomplicated Mac OS X Python Statusbar Apps
- py2exe - same as py2app but for Windows .exe files
- cx_Freeze - Another packager to create Windows .exe files
Compile Python Application
If you have suggestions, feedback or ideas, please reach out to me @metachris.