Idle Download Page
Currently, there are five files available. All are standard zip files; to install simply unpack them in a suitable directory (with subdirectories enabled).
- the full Idle beta release (0.3.1b): this zip (~1.5 MB) is the full monty. It contains all the stuff that is in the other four archives. Please remember that you're dealing with a beta release: there may be bugs and feedback is always welcome.
- the Idle beta release (0.3.1b): this file (~530 KB) brings you just the basic files needed to work with Idle: the required executables, the runtime library files and quite a few sample scripts (see next item for the documentation).
- the documentation: this zip (~150 KB) contains the full set of HTML pages with the Idle documentation. The documentation is (as always) more preliminary than the code: there are certainly errors and omissions, so once again, all feedback is welcome.
- the Perl interface: a zip (~390 KB) with an interface to embed Perl code into Idle scripts. This contains the Perl core DLL, the glue DLL and the Idle interface module as well as a few examples.
- the TCC interface: last but not least, this file (~405 KB) contains all that is needed to interface Idle with Tiny C: the TCC compiler DLL and the glue DLL as well as the Idle interface module. Also included are the C header files, the TCC runtime library and a few examples.
After downloading and checking the MD5 and SHA1 checksums you should unpack the zip file(s) into a single directory. The full package installs into the following directory tree:
Getting Idle to work
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After unpacking the zip into a subdirectory of your choice you should set the PATH and IDLE_PATH environment variables to include the Idle bin\ directory (which is in the directory where you unpacked the Idle zip, see also the included batch file bin\setIDLE_PATH.bat and the readme file in test\). Once you have done that, you can test Idle by simply executing the eponymous script in subdirectory test\:
cd test idle.exe Test.idle
If this (or any other of the included scripts) doesn't work but instead spits out a screenful of error messages, like that shown below, your setting of IDLE_PATH is almost certainly the culprit.
c:\Program Files\Idle\bin\Idle.exe: F:\test.idle:1: module 'Idle' not found:
no field package.preload['Idle']
no file '.\Idle.idle'
no file '..\Idle.idle'
no file 'C:\Program Files\UTILS\Idle.idle'
no file '.\Idle03.dll'
no file '..\Idle03.dll'
no file 'C:\Program Files\UTILS\Idle03.dll'
no file 'C:\Program Files\UTILS\loadall.dll'
stack traceback:
[C]: in function 'require'
F:\test.idle:1: in main chunk
[C]: ?
Please double-check IDLE_PATH and have another look or two at the readme in subdirectory test\.
If you want to register the .idle file type in the Windows registry, there is a little script included (see bin\RegisterIdle.idle) that should do the trick. This program also attempts to change CMD.EXE's PATHEXT environment variable such that you can execute .idle script files without having to type the tedious 'idle.exe' in front. I am not sure whether this will work for all the different versions of CMD.EXE as my experience with that shell is rather limited. Even if it does work there seem to be 'issues' with programs that use PATHEXT-run scripts in connection with file redirection. It's all Microsoft stuff, so YMMV.
If you happen to use a recent version of the excellent 4NT command line processor, you can simply create an executable extension for .idle (see the 4NT help). There are no problems with file redirection under 4NT that I know of.