MacPorts¶
If you can follow instructions and have a little patience then MacPorts is a very good option for a long-term commitment to using Python on a Mac.
To install Python using MacPorts follow the detailed instructions at MacPorts Python installation on Mac - 10 easy steps. Another tutorial on MacPorts for Python which is well-written and helpful is Setting Up a Mac for Python Development.
Quick installation check¶
Open a new terminal window and type:
which ipython
You should see one of the following:
| Dist | Path |
|---|---|
| MacPorts | /opt/local/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/bin/ipython |
If not go to the Troubleshooting section.
MacOS X Developer Tools¶
Before you install additional packages, you will need to make sure that you
have installed the MacOS X Developer Tools (XCode) so that the gcc
compiler is available. If you are not sure if you have the developer tools
installed, try typing gcc in a Terminal. You should see something like this:
$ gcc
i686-apple-darwin10-gcc-4.2.1: no input files
If you get gcc: command not found then you need to install the
developer tools. If you already have the developer tools installed, you can
proceed to the next section.
There are several ways to install XCode:
- The developer tools should be present on one of the installation DVDs that came with your Mac. Often, this can be found on DVD 2 rather than on the main DVD.
- If you don’t have the original installation DVDs, you can register for free as an Apple
Developer, which will give you access to XCode 2 or 3:
- If you are using MacOS 10.6 you should be able to download XCode 3.2.6
once you are logged in to the Mac Dev Center. Then, run
the installer (
Xcode and iOS SDK). - If you are using MacOS 10.5, first log in to the Mac Dev Center, then go
here.
Click on Developer Tools, and download Xcode 3.1.4 Developer DVD
(Disk Image), then run the installer (
XcodeTools.mpkg). - If you are using MacOS 10.4, first log in to the Mac Dev Center, then go
here.
Click on Developer Tools, and download Xcode 2.5 Developer Tools
(Disk Image), then run the installer (
XcodeTools.mpkg).
- If you are using MacOS 10.6 you should be able to download XCode 3.2.6
once you are logged in to the Mac Dev Center. Then, run
the installer (
- If you like to live on the bleeding edge, have MacOS X 10.6.6, and don’t
mind shelling out $4.99, go to the App Store (
/Applications/App Store.app) and buy XCode 4. Note that while this should work, we have not tested it so we can’t guarantee that everything will go smoothly with the Enthought Python Distribution.
Fortran¶
Many of the Python scientific packages use Fortran libraries internally. To
avoid getting obscure errors, it is highly recommended to install the latest
gfortran from http://r.research.att.com/tools/. Once you have
installed it, make sure that typing gfortran gives something like this:
$ gfortran
i686-apple-darwin8-gfortran-4.2: no input files
If you get gfortran: command not found, then gfortran did not
install correctly.
Troubleshooting¶
Path¶
If the Python distribution installed successfully and you can start python but not ipython
(error message like ipython: command not found) then there is likely a
problem with your PATH. In the instructions below use the correct PATH for your distribution:
| Dist | Path |
|---|---|
| MacPorts | /opt/local/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/bin/ |
Step 1¶
Are you sure you opened a new terminal window after the installation finished?
Step 2¶
Try this in a new terminal window:
echo $PATH
If you do not see something like
/Library/Frameworks/EPD64.framework/Versions/Current/bin in your path then go
to step 3.
Step 3¶
Determine if you are running csh/tcsh or bash by entering the command
echo $0 in a terminal window. For csh or tcsh you should edit the file
~/.cshrc and add the following lines at the end:
# Setting PATH for Enthough Python Distribution
set path=(/Library/Frameworks/EPD64.framework/Versions/Current/bin $path)
For bash you should edit the file ~/.bash_profile and add the following lines at the end:
# Setting PATH for Enthough Python Distribution
export PATH=/Library/Frameworks/EPD64.framework/Versions/Current/bin:$PATH
32 vs. 64 bit¶
If you get the following error when attempting to start up python:
$ python
-bash: /Library/Frameworks/EPD64.framework/Versions/Current/bin/python: Bad CPU type in executable
then this means that your processor does not support 64-bit binaries. Start by uninstalling EPD:
cd /Library/Frameworks/EPD64.framework/Versions
sudo rm -rf 7.0
cd /Applications
sudo rm -rf Enthought
then download and install EPD 7.0.2 32-bit.