If you are using a Python from any current python.org Python installer for macOS (3.8.0+, 3.7.2+, 3.6.8, or 2.7.16+), no further action is needed to use IDLE or tkinter. A built-in version of Tcl/Tk 8.6 will be used.
Getting and Installing MacPython¶. Mac OS X 10.8 comes with Python 2.7 pre-installed by Apple. If you wish, you are invited to install the most recent version of Python from the Python website (current “universal binary” build of Python, which runs natively on the Mac’s new Intel and legacy PPC CPU’s, is available there. I want to create a GUI application which should work on Windows and Mac. For this I've chosen Python. The problem is on Mac OS X. There are 2 tools to generate an '.app' for Mac: py2app and pyinstaller. Py2app is pretty good, but it adds the source code in the package. I don't want to. Jun 13, 2018 Run the Python installer package and install Python 3 onto the Mac Python 3.8.x requires about 100mb of disk space to install. Installation is quick, and you’ll have Python 3.x alongside Python 2.x on the Mac. Once Python 3 is installed you will find a Python3 folder. Mac OS 68k Mac OS 9 Mac OS X: Does not initially include Python support but new language modes can be created. One available here MiPython: SubEthaEdit: Mac OS X: Python syntax coloring. Allow multiple author to edit the same file collaborativelly over the network using 'Bonjour' (previously Rendezvous). TextWrangler: Mac OS X 10.4 or later.
-->In this 5-10 minute introduction to Visual Studio as a Python IDE, you create a simple Python web application based on the Flask framework. You create the project through discrete steps that help you learn about Visual Studio's basic features.
If you haven't already installed Visual Studio, go to the Visual Studio downloads page to install it for free. In the installer, make sure to select the Python development workload.
If you haven't already installed Visual Studio, go to the Visual Studio downloads page to install it for free. In the installer, make sure to select the Python development workload.
Create the project
The following steps create an empty project that serves as a container for the application:
Open Visual Studio 2017.
From the top menu bar, choose File > New > Project.
In the New Project dialog box, enter 'Python Web Project' in the search field on the upper right, choose Web project in the middle list, give the project a name like 'HelloPython', then choose OK.
If you don't see the Python project templates, run the Visual Studio Installer, select More > Modify, select the Python development workload, then choose Modify.
The new project opens in Solution Explorer in the right pane. The project is empty at this point because it contains no other files.
Open Visual Studio 2019.
On the start screen, select Create a new project.
In the Create a new project dialog box, enter 'Python web' in the search field at the top, choose Web Project in the middle list, then select Next:
If you don't see the Python project templates, run the Visual Studio Installer, select More > Modify, select the Python development workload, then choose Modify.
In the Configure your new project dialog that follows, enter 'HelloPython' for Project name, specify a location, and select Create. (The Solution name is automatically set to match the Project name.)
The new project opens in Solution Explorer in the right pane. The project is empty at this point because it contains no other files.
Question: What's the advantage of creating a project in Visual Studio for a Python application?
Answer: Python applications are typically defined using only folders and files, but this simple structure can become burdensome as applications become larger and perhaps involve auto-generated files, JavaScript for web applications, and so on. A Visual Studio project helps manage this complexity. The project (a .pyproj file) identifies all the source and content files associated with your project, contains build information for each file, maintains the information to integrate with source-control systems, and helps you organize your application into logical components.
Question: What is the 'solution' shown in Solution Explorer?
Answer: A Visual Studio solution is a container that helps you manage for one or more related projects as a group, and stores configuration settings that aren't specific to a project. Projects in a solution can also reference one another, such that running one project (a Python app) automatically builds a second project (such as a C++ extension used in the Python app).
Install the Flask library
Web apps in Python almost always use one of the many available Python libraries to handle low-level details like routing web requests and shaping responses. For this purpose, Visual Studio provides a variety of templates for web apps, one of which you use later in this Quickstart.
Here, you use the following steps to install the Flask library into the default 'global environment' that Visual Studio uses for this project.
Expand the Python Environments node in the project to see the default environment for the project. Mac launching apps at startup turn off.
Right-click the environment and select Install Python Package. This command opens the Python Environments window on the Packages tab.
Enter 'flask' in the search field and select pip install flask from PyPI. Accept any prompts for administrator privileges and observe the Output window in Visual Studio for progress. (A prompt for elevation happens when the packages folder for the global environment is located within a protected area like C:Program Files.)
Expand the Python Environments node in the project to see the default environment for the project.
Right-click the environment and select Manage Python Packages... This command opens the Python Environments window on the Packages (PyPI) tab.
Enter 'flask' in the search field. If Flask appears below the search box, you can skip this step. Otherwise select Run command: pip install flask. Accept any prompts for administrator privileges and observe the Output window in Visual Studio for progress. (A prompt for elevation happens when the packages folder for the global environment is located within a protected area like C:Program Files.)
Python Web App On Mac Os X Mac
Once installed, the library appears in the environment in Solution Explorer, which means that you can make use of it in Python code.
Note
Instead of installing libraries in the global environment, developers typically create a 'virtual environment' in which to install libraries for a specific project. Visual Studio templates typically offer this option, as discussed in Quickstart - Create a Python project using a template.
Question: Where do I learn more about other available Python packages?
Answer: Visit the Python Package Index.
Add a code file
You're now ready to add a bit of Python code to implement a minimal web app.
Right-click the project in Solution Explorer and select Add > New Item.
In the dialog that appears, select Empty Python File, name it app.py, and select Add. Visual Studio automatically opens the file in an editor window.
Copy the following code and paste it into app.py:
You may have noticed that the Add > New Item dialog box displays many other types of files you can add to a Python project, including a Python class, a Python package, a Python unit test, web.config files, and more. In general, these item templates, as they're called, are a great way to quickly create files with useful boilerplate code.
Question: Where can I learn more about Flask?
Answer: Refer to the Flask documentation, starting with the Flask Quickstart.
Run the application
Right-click app.py in Solution Explorer and select Set as startup file. This command identifies the code file to launch in Python when running the app.
Right-click the project in Solution Explorer and select Properties. Then select the Debug tab and set the Port Number property to
4449
. This step ensures that Visual Studio launches a browser withlocalhost:4449
to match theapp.run
arguments in the code.Select Debug > Start Without Debugging (Ctrl+F5), which saves changes to files and runs the app.
A command window appears with the message Running in https://localhost:4449, and a browser window should open to
localhost:4449
where you see the message, 'Hello, Python!' The GET request also appears in the command window with a status of 200.If a browser does not open automatically, start the browser of your choice and navigate to
localhost:4449
.If you see only the Python interactive shell in the command window, or if that window flashes on the screen briefly, ensure that you set app.py as the startup file in step 1 above.
Navigate to
localhost:4449/hello
to test that the decorator for the/hello
resource also works. Again, the GET request appears in the command window with a status of 200. Feel free to try some other URL as well to see that they show 404 status codes in the command window.Close the command window to stop the app, then close the browser window.
Question: What's the difference between the Start Without Debugging command and Start Debugging?
Install Python On Mac Os
Answer: You use Start Debugging to run the app in the context of the Visual Studio debugger, allowing you to set breakpoints, examine variables, and step through your code line by line. Apps may run slower in the debugger because of the various hooks that make debugging possible. Start Without Debugging, in contrast, runs the app directly as if you ran it from the command line, with no debugging context, and also automatically launches a browser and navigates to the URL specified in the project properties' Debug tab.
Next steps
Congratulations on running your first Python app from Visual Studio, in which you've learned a little about using Visual Studio as a Python IDE!
Because the steps you followed in this Quickstart are fairly generic, you've probably guessed that they can and should be automated. Such automation is the role of Visual Studio project templates. Go through Quickstart - Create a Python project using a template for a demonstration that creates a web app similar to the one you created in this article, but with fewer steps.
To continue with a fuller tutorial on Python in Visual Studio, including using the interactive window, debugging, data visualization, and working with Git, go through Tutorial: Get started with Python in Visual Studio.
To explore more that Visual Studio has to offer, select the links below.
- Learn about Python web app templates in Visual Studio.
- Learn about Python debugging
- Learn more about the Visual Studio IDE in general.
Mac OS X comes with Python 2.7 out of the box.
You do not need to install or configure anything else to use Python 2. Theseinstructions document the installation of Python 3.
The version of Python that ships with OS X is great for learning, but it’s notgood for development. The version shipped with OS X may be out of date from theofficial current Python release,which is considered the stable production version.
Doing it Right¶
Let’s install a real version of Python.
Before installing Python, you’ll need to install GCC. GCC can be obtainedby downloading Xcode, the smallerCommand Line Tools (must have anApple account) or the even smaller OSX-GCC-Installerpackage.
Note
If you already have Xcode installed, do not install OSX-GCC-Installer.In combination, the software can cause issues that are difficult todiagnose.
Note
If you perform a fresh install of Xcode, you will also need to add thecommandline tools by running xcode-select--install
on the terminal.
While OS X comes with a large number of Unix utilities, those familiar withLinux systems will notice one key component missing: a package manager.Homebrew fills this void.
To install Homebrew, open Terminal
oryour favorite OS X terminal emulator and run
The script will explain what changes it will make and prompt you before theinstallation begins.Once you’ve installed Homebrew, insert the Homebrew directory at the topof your PATH
environment variable. You can do this by adding the followingline at the bottom of your ~/.profile
file
If you have OS X 10.12 (Sierra) or older use this line instead
Now, we can install Python 3:
This will take a minute or two.
Pip¶
Homebrew installs pip
pointing to the Homebrew’d Python 3 for you.
Working with Python 3¶
At this point, you have the system Python 2.7 available, potentially theHomebrew version of Python 2 installed, and the Homebrewversion of Python 3 as well.
will launch the Homebrew-installed Python 3 interpreter.
will launch the Homebrew-installed Python 2 interpreter (if any).
will launch the Homebrew-installed Python 3 interpreter.
If the Homebrew version of Python 2 is installed then pip2
will point to Python 2.If the Homebrew version of Python 3 is installed then pip
will point to Python 3.
The rest of the guide will assume that python
references Python 3.
Pipenv & Virtual Environments¶
The next step is to install Pipenv, so you can install dependencies and manage virtual environments.
A Virtual Environment is a tool to keep the dependencies required by different projectsin separate places, by creating virtual Python environments for them. It solves the“Project X depends on version 1.x but, Project Y needs 4.x” dilemma, and keepsyour global site-packages directory clean and manageable.
For example, you can work on a project which requires Django 1.10 while alsomaintaining a project which requires Django 1.8.
So, onward! To the Pipenv & Virtual Environments docs!
This page is a remixed version of another guide,which is available under the same license.