[Python-Dev] [Idle-dev] Removing IDLE from the standard library (original) (raw)

Kevin Walzer kw at codebykevin.com
Mon Jul 12 16:34:50 CEST 2010

On 7/12/10 10:16 AM, Michiel Overtoom wrote:

Tal Einat wrote:

I would like to propose removing IDLE from the standard library. I use IDLE every day. It does everything I want an IDE to do, it looks simple and doesn't waste screen real estate like some other IDEs do, it supports proportionally spaced fonts correctly, its syntax coloring is easy configurable (not a nightmare like some scintilla-based IDEs), and it's instantly available on any PC on which I install Python. I'd like to keep it in the stdlib.

+1 to keeping it in the stdlib, in case my earlier comments didn't make that clear.

My own reasons for submitting patches to help with Tkinter on the Mac are pretty typical: the Cocoa-based implementation of Tk broke some things in IDLE because of different methods for menu placement, etc. I wanted this fixed, and since I might be the only Python person with the knowledge about Carbon vs. Cocoa internals in Tk to do it, I dug in, attempted to grok IDLE's rather baroque code, and eventually came up with some patches. Scratching my own itch, IOW.

I'm currently using Aquamacs/Emacs for my Python development because of some other issues with Tk-Cocoa (external to IDLE) on Leopard, but once I upgrade my OS, I plan to return to using IDLE for everyday Python development. Since Tkinter is my GUI toolkit of choice, I like to work in that environment.

Also, I strongly urge Guilherme (or someone) to commit his changes to IDLE. While I like IDLE and feel it is a very useful IDE for Python work even for someone who is past the beginner stage, I also agree that its current UI is dated. Adding the themed Tk widgets would likely make it more pleasant to use, as well as showing what can be done with the new widgets. (The existence and widespread use of archaic Tk extensions like Tix within Tkinter isn't a recommendation for the toolkit beyond backwards compatibility.)

--Kevin

-- Kevin Walzer Code by Kevin http://www.codebykevin.com

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