Suggestions for a development environment?

[Dana Pellerin]

James, I too am brand new to the whole Python/GTK/Linux thing as well. 
I'm really looking forward to reading about your experiences as you 
learn and I have planned to document mine as well. There seems to be 
very few entry level tutorials for people who are new to the entire 
platform. Coming from the Windows/Visual Studio world, I've had a lot of 
trouble just getting things set up so I can write some code. I don't 
know how much I can help you with your particular issue, but I will 
share what I am doing so far in case there are other folks struggling.

I have managed to get Ubuntu 7.10 running under VMWare. I downloaded a 
prebuilt VM here: 
http://isv-image.ubuntu.com/vmware/Ubuntu-7.10-desktop-i386.zip. It 
seems to work pretty well and saved me a lot of install time. I then 
used the built in package manager to install what looks like a pretty 
decent IDE called Eric. The website is at: 
http://www.die-offenbachs.de/eric/index.html. If you decide to use GTK, 
check out a GUI builder called Gazpacho. It's like GLADE but seems a 
little slicker to me at first glance. It can also be installed from the 
package manager in Ubuntu, but the website is located here: 
http://gazpacho.sicem.biz/.

You asked about mixing GTK and PyGame and I ran across a Wiki entry 
saying it can't be done. I don't know first hand, but here's the entry: 
http://www.pygame.org/wiki/gui?parent=index.

I don't actually have an XO laptop, so I installed it in a VM by 
downloading a prebuilt image here: http://dev.laptop.org/pub/virtualbox/.

So that's the environment I have set up and I'm just starting to write 
some basic "hello world" type apps using GTK. I have no idea how they 
will appear or integrate with Sugar on the XO though. What I have not 
figured out yet is how to get my programs over to the XO virtual 
machine. This is where my lack of Linux knowledge is really killing me. 
Do I FTP it over somehow?

Dana

James Newton wrote:
> Hi Python activity developers,
>
> I am fairly new to Python and to Linux.  I have a number of ideas for
> educational activities that I would like to create for the XO.   I'm
> currently working on a Snakes and Ladders game.  I have plans for several
> other activities, including an Abacus, a game for stimulating mental imagery
> and a co-operative game based on micro-loans.
>
> I have spent some weeks now looking for the right tools to help me develop
> these activities.  In the hope that I may have missed an obvious but ideal
> solution, I'd like to give a summary of what I'm hoping to do, and ask you
> for your suggestions. 
>
> Modules
> =======
> So far, I've been using Pygame to display the background and counters at
> precise positions on the screen.  My understanding is the PyGTK might more
> economical in terms of CPU usage than PyGame, and that it would let me use
> Glade to layout the screens.  
>
> On the one hand, I am unsure how I could deal with multiple overlapping
> counters [2] or a criss-cross arrangement of snakes and ladders [4, 5] in
> PyGTK.  On the other, creating a separate screen for setting seems simpler
> in PyGTK than in Pygame.
>
> Is it possible to use the two approaches together?
>
> Platform
> ========
> My background is in Macromedia Director, which I have used at a high level
> for over ten years.  I'd probably be most productive most quickly if I could
> find a similar authoring environment for Python.  Having said that, I
> understand that Python uses a very different metaphor, so, in the long term,
> I would be better off using a purely Pythonic environment.  I'm looking for
> new good habits to acquire.
>
> I have done most of my Python development so far on Windows, using IDLE.  I
> am also very much at ease on Macintosh.  I would guess that the closer my
> development environment is to the XO environment, the smoother the
> development process will go.  I have managed to get a machine set up to run
> Ubuntu 7.10, but I haven't found how to install IDLE on it.
>
> I have found a list of Python IDEs at
> <http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Devtools/ides.html>, but no reviews that allow me
> to compare them.  I would be willing to pay for an IDE (shareware or
> otherwise) if that is what you recommend.
>
>
> I understand that personal preferences play a large part in choosing both
> what modules to use for a particular development and what platform and
> environment to work with.  So what would your personal preferences be for
> the project I describe above and why?
>
>
> Thanks in advance for your insight.  In return, I plan to create a series of
> tutorials[1], written from my beginner-to-the-whole-Python-Linux-XO-thing
> point of view, so that others interested in writing XO activities can get up
> and running faster.
>
> James
>
>
> [1] Examples
> For the XO:   <http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Ethiopian_Setup>
> For Director: <http://nonlinear.openspark.com/articles/index.htm>
>
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