Python.org Download [2021]
Florine Nogoda
After using the python.org installers for 2.6.6 ( ) and 2.5.4 ( ), I have Python versions which are more mature than those provided by Apple (which is great for development), but have broken core system functionality (which is bad for just about everything else.) The most visible breaks so far have been when trying to run namebench ( ), Blink ( ) and Mercurial ( -scm.org/). From what I can gather, it's down to the paths.
You misunderstand how Python installations work on OS X. Each Python instance has its own site-packages directory. The standard location for framework installers is within the framework at ./lib/pythonx.y/site-packages. So for the python.org installers which install into /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework, you will find its 2.6 site-packages here:
In Mac OS X 10.6, the Apple-supplied Python is built using gcc-4.2 and targeted just for OSX 10.6 and includes 3 CPU architectures (i386, x86_64, and ppc). The python.org installers for Python 2.6 are built to run on older systems as well, so have a target of 10.3 and later, use gcc-4.0, and are 32-bit only (i386 and ppc). So, in general, you cannot run C extension modules built for the one Python with the other.
This means that, in general, you need to install separate copies of 3rd-party packages you need with and for each Python, if they are not already included with that Python. This includes basic items like easy_install (from setuptools or Distribute). The system Pythons in 10.5+ include easy_install version in /usr/bin for them. If you install a python.org Python, you'll need to install a separate version for it; by default, the easy_install command will be installed in that Python's ./bin directory in its framework; that is the Distutils default location. That's why it is recommended that you add this directory to your shell PATH (and the python.org installer for Python 2 do that automatically by default).
Also installing a python.org Python in no way breaks anything in the system Python because they are completely independent installations using different file system locations. The only thing that may change is which instance of Python is invoked when you type a particular name. That is controlled primarily by the search order of your shell PATH environment variable. As noted, the python.org installer by default changes that order but the system Python is still readily available by using its absolute path /usr/bin/python2.6. Or you can revert the changes to shell profile, for instance, .bash_profile.
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