I just bought an inexpensive used Dell notebook that has Ubuntu/Linux as an operating system. Compared to Vista this is sweet.

It came with Python25 installed, but it was easy to use the Add/Remove application feature to get open source software from the Ubuntu site. I downloaded/installed Stani's Python Editor (SPE) IDE with just a click of a button, that also installed wxPython.

In the Ubuntu application list I also found the Eric4 IDE. I clicked the button and it downloaded and installed. This also installed the PyQT4 package. Now I got interested in the PyQT4 GUI toolkit.

There are tons of programming applications on the list, it's like a candy store. So next was QTdesiger, BOA and Sun's Open Office. Yes, I like Ubuntu and Linux, learning to use it quickly.

If anyone alse uses Ubuntu (or other Linux packages) and Python, please share your experiences, tips and wisdom. I am just an Ubuntu newbee.

I don't remember if SQLite is installed by default or not. A test is of course
import sqlite3
Even though you may not use it, there are various apps that do. Also, check out the programming forum there http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=39

Yeah i got a Dell inspron mini 9. One of the netbooks and it runs linux so well. I spent ages getting confused about how to install applications until about a week later i found the add/remove programs item. Woops!

But i love its speed and its community. Hope you have fun with ubuntu! :)

I don't remember if SQLite is installed by default or not. A test is of course
import sqlite3
Even though you may not use it, there are various apps that do. Also, check out the programming forum there http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=39

Module sqlite3 works just fine. I have successfully tested a fair number of Python programs from my collection.

I am also getting used to the Mozilla Firefox web browser.

I downloaded file pygame_1.8.1release.orig.tar.gz from the Ubuntu site. My silly newbee question is: "What Linux command do I use to install/setup it to Python?"

This was the first result from googling "ubuntu install pygame": http://www.pygame.org/wiki/kubuntu

One of the best things about Ubuntu(Linux in general) is that it has such a huge open-source user base that almost every question you have has a detailed guide online of how somebody else did it.

commented: thanks +6

Thanks jlm699!
Going to the terminal and running command
sudo apt-get install python-pygame
works like a charm.

One of the best nuggets of wisdom I ever got about using Ubuntu (and other Debian based systems) is learn to use apt.

I suppose it applies to whatever package manager that your distribution happens to be using.

Here's a quick run down on how I use apt.

1. Find out the name of the package I want to install. If I'm not sure, I do sudo aptitude search software_name 2. Do sudo apt-get install package_name It's that easy!

Whenever I want to remove anything, I do sudo apt-get remove package_name Sometimes I want to install software that there aren't packages for, or the packages are outdated. To do that I just get the source code and extract it, and then mostly it's as easy as these steps (these have nothing to do with apt-get by the way):

1. Become root on terminal (some might not like this approach). On Ubuntu it's sudo su 2. Navigate to folder with source-code (use cd dir_name to change directories)
3. ./configure This is if the software provides a configure script.
4. make 5. make install Easy, isn't it?

One last thing, If you're installing python packages from source (and that source provides a setup.py script), it's almost always as easy as doing python setup.py install . Regardless of platform.

commented: Nice! +2

First, make sure that all repositories are enabled, and that you update after that. If you have Gnome Ubuntu and you want to install a KDE package for example, the default repos will not find KDE apps because those repos are not enabled.

But there also is the GUI Synaptic Package Manager on Ubuntu, thats really nice to start with, it gets all of the dependencies. It is search-able and categorised.
You find it in System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager

Thats what i use if i cant find it with the aptitude search. :)

Hope that helps

The May 2009 issue of "Linux Pro" magazine has a "Knoppix 6.1" live DVD included. I set my Vista machine to boot with CD, and with the DVD in the CD/DVD drive, it will boot up with Knoppix Linux (similar to Ubuntu).

Too make life easier, I used a utility (on the DVD) to burn the Knoppix OS onto a 8G Flashcard which also allows about 4G to be used to establish a read/write sector. Now I can boot up without the DVD, and just have to press the Esc key during boot up to switch to the Flashcard and the Knoppix OS comes up.

I still like Ubuntu better, maybe the next Ubuntu release will show up as a live DVD on one of the Linux magazines. Just love to say goodbye to that lousy Vista OS!

Hey you can also try virtualization. Many people prefer Vmware player, but I like VirtualBox.

You can download an Ubuntu live CD from here (are there are a lot of tutorials on how to put it on a USB drive), but Knoppix is better IMHO because they have tools like GParted for repairing the system. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCD Also, there is a netbook version if you don't already know https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UNR

You can also request a free ubuntu CD be shipped to you, no shipping fees or anything. I used to use that when i had dialup internet :).

https://shipit.ubuntu.com/

Hope that helps!

Hi Paul ;)

I'm using Ubuntu here and I use a combination of wxWidgets and Geany, sometimes with wxGlade or XRCed to create GUI's.

Iv not really played with any other toolkits for long - wxWidgets seemed to make the most sense to me when I first looked, so I stuck with it.

I use Geany because it allows a single click to test/run your application, although there is nothing like a debugger involved, and it is quick and clean with a tabbed interface.

I noticed a short discussion about apt/synaptic: I don't see much difference between the two, except of course that synaptic makes a whole lot more sense to anyone who has used Windows for any length of time. Really its just about using what you are comfortable with.

As for databases, I have only used sqlite3 for fairly small scale apps, but it seems robust and is quick and easy to use if you have even a basic idea about SQL statements.

If you have any specific questions (just generalities, I'm no expert!) by all means drop me a line - You have my email address.

regards

Max

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