Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
macOS Easy to code Python on Mac?
- Thread starter Mr West
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Most likely, you'll be fine. Python was originally developed for Unix-like platforms, so it's arguably more 'at home' on OS X than on Windows.
OS X 10.10 comes with Python 2.7 pre-installed. If your scripts are plain standard python (i.e. you're not going out of you way to access DLLs or other Windows-only features), they should run only either as-is or with only minimal changes. (E.g., if your scripts are reading/writing from files, you will probably need to tweak their path names.)
You can find more information over at python.org. Their text talks about OS X 10.8, but AFAIK the info should be current for 10.10, as well. Also note the version-switcher in the top-left corner of the page, in case you're interested in the docs for a different Python version.
OS X 10.10 comes with Python 2.7 pre-installed. If your scripts are plain standard python (i.e. you're not going out of you way to access DLLs or other Windows-only features), they should run only either as-is or with only minimal changes. (E.g., if your scripts are reading/writing from files, you will probably need to tweak their path names.)
You can find more information over at python.org. Their text talks about OS X 10.8, but AFAIK the info should be current for 10.10, as well. Also note the version-switcher in the top-left corner of the page, in case you're interested in the docs for a different Python version.
superscape
macrumors 6502a
Can't see it being a problem if you're just doing simple scripts.
If you want to be fancy/masochistic (depending on personal opinion!), you could even use Xcode. There's a discussion about halfway down this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/xcode-as-an-ide-for-python.1102146/
That said, you can get away with a basic text editor if you want.
If you want to be fancy/masochistic (depending on personal opinion!), you could even use Xcode. There's a discussion about halfway down this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/xcode-as-an-ide-for-python.1102146/
That said, you can get away with a basic text editor if you want.
ArtOfWarfare
macrumors G3
Most Python IDEs are cross platform, I think. I personally just use Sublime Text.
kilon
macrumors newbie
On macos coding for python is far easier because
a) Python is already installed in MacOS
b) Apple unlike Microsoft fully supports Python offering full access to the OS libraries from python as well as documentation of how to do this
installing XCODE will also give you a very powerful IDE with python support and many more advantages
Stella
macrumors G3
Python is vastly easier than on Windows.. for the reason above.
Pycharm community is a free IDE that you can use. Better than using Xcode or Sublime IMO.
https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/download/
If your learning Python, your better off using sublime text or other editor - not an IDE - it will add more complexity.
Pycharm community is a free IDE that you can use. Better than using Xcode or Sublime IMO.
https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/download/
If your learning Python, your better off using sublime text or other editor - not an IDE - it will add more complexity.
jasnw
macrumors 65816
The only thing to keep an eye on is the python version. At present, El Capitan has the latest python 2 (2.7.10) but I've seen Mac OS lag behind the versions available from places like macports in the past. Also, if you're using python 3 you'll need to get that from elsewhere and install it. If you're just a casual user, however, you're probably using python 2 and will be OK.
ArtOfWarfare
macrumors G3
If you're using 3 you get it from Python.org, no matter what platform.
Also, I was not aware that El Capitan came with 2.7.10. That's interesting and good.
So is pip available now on OS X completely out of the box? I'm pretty sure it's bundled with Python as of version 2.7.9 or so...
kilon
macrumors newbie
I think pip was bundled way before that, the only thing that needed installation and probably still does is easy_install
bare in mind that 2.7 and 3 are diffirent beasts, Apple supports 2.7 because its by far the most popular, python 3 has a new syntax and python 2 apps wont work without modification. So if you want the most support and most libraries go with Apple's python 2.7 but if you want future support for long term projects go with python 3.