Swampy: Installation Instructions

If you have Python and Tkinter, you can install Swampy from the Python Package Index.

If you need help installing Swampy, Tkinter or Python, see the detailed instructions below. These instructions are a work in progress; if you have suggestions for improvement, let me know.

Once you have Swampy installed, try out some of the examples is this tutorial.

Python 3

Swampy for Python 3 is not available as a package. But the source code is available in a zip file:

Swampy source for Python 3: swampy-2.1.python3.zip

If you unzip this directory and add it to the Python search path, you will be able to import Swampy modules, but instead of specifying the package and module like this:

import swampy.TurtleWorld

You would just specify the module, like this:

import TurtleWorld

Swampy for Python 3 is relatively new, so please let me know if you run into problems.

Linux

Install Python
To see if you already have Python, open a terminal (Applications->Accessories->Terminal) and type python on the Linux command line. You should see something like this:
```
Python 2.6.4 (r264:75706, Dec  7 2009, 18:45:15)
>>>
```
If so, you have Python. If the version number starts with 2, you have Python 2, which is the version of Python used in Think Python. If the version number starts with 3, you have Python 3. You will not be able to use Swampy with Python 3.
To install Python on Ubuntu, run
```
sudo apt-get install python python-tk
```
Or for Python 3
```
sudo apt-get install python python3-tk
```
Or use the Synaptic Package Manager to install "python" and "python-tk".
For other distributions, you can find instructions at python.org. You should install the latest version of Python 2 (but anything after 2.4 should work).
Install Tkinter
To see if you have Tkinter, type python on the Linux command line. Then at the Python prompt, type
```
>>> import Tkinter
```
Or in Python 3
```
>>> import tkinter
```
If you have Tkinter, Python will not print an error message and you can go on to the next section.
Otherwise you will see something like this:
```
ImportError: No module named Tkinter
```
In that case, you have to install Tkinter. On Ubuntu, you can run
```
sudo apt-get install python-tk
```
Or for Python 3
```
sudo apt-get install python python3-tk
```
Or use the Synaptic Package Manager to install "python-tk".
For other distributions, you can get more information from the Tkinter wiki.
Install Swampy
To see if you have Swampy, type python on the Linux command line. Then at the Python prompt, type
```
>>> import swampy.TurtleWorld
```
If you have Swampy, Python will not print an error message and you are all set. Enjoy the book!
Otherwise you will see something like this:
```
ImportError: No module named swampy.TurtleWorld
```
In that case, you have to install it. Swampy is available from PyPI, the Python Package Index.
If you use easy_install, you can install it like this:
```
sudo easy_install swampy
```
If you use pip, you can install it like this:
```
sudo pip install swampy
```
Otherwise, instructions for installing packages from PyPI are here.
If you follow their instructions for Distutils, you might need to know how to "extract the distribution." Download the gzipped tar file (with the suffix .tar.gz). Make sure you are in the directory where you downloaded the file and type
```
tar -xzf swampy-*.tar.gz
```
Then cd into the directory it creates:
```
cd swampy-x.x.x
```
You have to replace the x's with the version number, or use tab-completion to avoid typing it.
Finally, run the installer according to the instructions in the tutorial.

Macintosh

Install Python
According to python.org,
Python comes pre-installed on Mac OS X, but due to Apple's release cycle, it's often one or even two years old. The overwhelming recommendation of the "MacPython" community is to upgrade your Python by downloading and installing a newer version from the Python standard release page.
Follow these instuctions to install a current version of Python. You should install the latest version of Python 2 (but anything after 2.4 should work).
Install Tkinter
To see if you have Tkinter, launch python; then at the Python prompt, type
```
>>> import Tkinter
```
Or in Python 3
```
>>> import tkinter
```
If you have Tkinter, Python will not print an error message and you can go on to the next section.
Otherwise you will see something like this:
```
ImportError: No module named Tkinter
```
In that case, you have to install Tkinter. You can follow these instructions from python.org.
Install Swampy
To see if you have Swampy, launch python; then at the Python prompt, type
```
>>> import swampy.TurtleWorld
```
If you have Swampy, Python will not print an error message and you are all set. Enjoy the book!
Otherwise you will see something like this:
```
ImportError: No module named swampy.TurtleWorld
```
In that case, you have to install it. Swampy is available from PyPI, the Python Package Index.
Instructions for installing packages from PyPI are here.
If you follow their instructions for Distutils, you might need to know how to "extract the distribution." Download the gzipped tar file (with the suffix .tar.gz). Make sure you are in the directory where you downloaded the file and type
```
tar -xzf swampy-*.tar.gz
```
Then cd into the directory it creates:
```
cd swampy-x.x.x
```
You have to replace the x's with the version number, or use tab-completion to avoid typing it.
Finally, run the installer according to the instructions in the tutorial.

Windows

Thanks to Jaymie for help improving these instructions. If you have suggestions for additional improvements, please let me know.

Install Python
For instructions on running Python under Windows, see the Python Windows FAQ.
To run Python from the Command Prompt, you need to add the folder that contains Python to the list of folders Windows searches for commands. The name of the folder is probably C:\Python26 or C:\Python27.
To add this folder to the search path, select Control panel -> system -> advanced -> Environmental Variables -> system variables -> Path. Add C:\Python26 or C:\Python27 to the end of the list (with a semi-colon as a separator).
Now if you restart the command window, you should be able to type python at the prompt and launch Python.
Install Tkinter
To see if you have Tkinter, launch python; then at the Python prompt, type
```
>>> import Tkinter
```
Or in Python 3
```
>>> import tkinter
```
If you have Tkinter, Python will not print an error message and you can go on to the next section.
Otherwise you will see something like this:
```
ImportError: No module named Tkinter
```
In that case, you have to install Tkinter. You can download the ActiveTcl Community Edition from ActiveState, which should provide Tkinter. If that doesn't work, there is more general information about Tkinter here.
Install Swampy
To see if you have Swampy, launch python; then at the Python prompt, type
```
>>> import swampy.TurtleWorld
```
If you have Swampy, Python will not print an error message and you are all set. Enjoy the book!
Otherwise you will see something like this:
```
ImportError: No module named swampy.TurtleWorld
```
In that case, you have to install it. Swampy is available from PyPI, the Python Package Index.
Right click the file at the bottom of the page and save the file in the site-packages folder (ex: C:\Python23\Lib\site-packages).
Next, right click the .tar.gz file in the folder and click "Extract Here" to extract the file in the folder. The file should create a "swampy-2.1.1" folder with all Swampy files.
Again, launch Python and see if you can import swampy.TurtleWorld. If so, you are all set.
Otherwise, you might have to edit the PYTHONPATH folder to change the environment and create a path to the file. Follow the instructions here, replacing the (c:\folder) with the location of the Swampy folder on your computer (most likely C:\Python27\Lib\site-packages\swampy-2.1.1).
Additional instructions for installing packages from PyPI are here.

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