<>Environment Variables! Can they get around specifying the path on the command line?

[St33med]

Somehow, when I first installed Python 2.5, it wouldn't let me run. I looked up what to do with the environment variables, and it got fixed... Sorta...

Then when I wanted to run a program off of command prompt, it wouldn't run, giving me an error that said that so and so is not an executable. Now I tried to do this, it screwed up my thing!

Any help?

[bartonc]

Somehow, when I first installed Python 2.5, it wouldn't let me run. I looked up what to do with the environment variables, and it got fixed... Sorta...

Then when I wanted to run a program off of command prompt, it wouldn't run, giving me an error that said that so and so is not an executable. Now I tried to do this, it screwed up my thing!

Any help?

Right click My Computer. Go to Properties: Advanced tab. Click Environment Varialbles button (at the bottom). In User Variables for Your Name, make sure that someting like "D:\python2 5;" is in the PATH variable. That should do it.

[St33med]

Well that worked... After I had to revert to a System Restore to go back before I changed ANYTHING to the Environment Variables, then I had to update a few programs... just a mess...

Anyway, now that I have python working, how do I get the programs to run in it?

Something about PATHEXT, I'm sure. But I don't know how to label it.

[ghostdog74]

Well that worked... After I had to revert to a System Restore to go back before I changed ANYTHING to the Environment Variables, then I had to update a few programs... just a mess...

Anyway, now that I have python working, how do I get the programs to run in it?

Something about PATHEXT, I'm sure. But I don't know how to label it.

to get your script to run, just type
c:\> python file.py

[St33med]

to get your script to run, just type
c:\> python file.py

No, no. I said the wrong thing. What I meant to say is that if I want to open a file like what you told me, I have to put the whole entire file's path, because, if I don't, it will tell me that there is no such file or directory.

Example: python C:\Python25\add ressbook.py

But if I try to open something that resides in the Documents and Settings, it won't accept it because of the spaces in documents and settings.

Example: python C:\Documents and Settings\addres sbook.py
python: can't open file 'C:\Documents': [Errno 2] No such file or directory.

But if I enclose the whole thing in quotes, it works... I want to get rid of the whole entire path being written out!

[bartonc]

No, no. I said the wrong thing. What I meant to say is that if I want to open a file like what you told me, I have to put the whole entire file's path, because, if I don't, it will tell me that there is no such file or directory.

Example: python C:\Python25\add ressbook.py

But if I try to open something that resides in the Documents and Settings, it won't accept it because of the spaces in documents and settings.

Example: python C:\Documents and Settings\addres sbook.py
python: can't open file 'C:\Documents': [Errno 2] No such file or directory.

But if I enclose the whole thing in quotes, it works... I want to get rid of the whole entire path being written out!

There are three ways to tell python where your files may be found:

the PYTHONPATH environment variable
sys.path
.pth files

The easiest thing is to add a .pth file to the site-packages directory with the path of your working directory.

[St33med]

There are three ways to tell python where your files may be found:

the PYTHONPATH environment variable
sys.path
.pth files

The easiest thing is to add a .pth file to the site-packages directory with the path of your working directory.

I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean... what site-packages directory? What is in the .pth file? Are you talking about Linux, because I'm on Windows.

[bartonc]

I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean... what site-packages directory? What is in the .pth file? Are you talking about Linux, because I'm on Windows.

site-packages is where almost all things that you add to python will be stored.
On my system it's "D:\Python24\Li b\site-packages". Yours may be slightly different.

In that folder, make a text file with paths in it that you want python to search every time you call python from the command-line or do an import. ie

MyPathFile.pth
C:\My Documents\etc.. .

[ghostdog74]

No, no. I said the wrong thing. What I meant to say is that if I want to open a file like what you told me, I have to put the whole entire file's path, because, if I don't, it will tell me that there is no such file or directory.

Example: python C:\Python25\add ressbook.py

But if I try to open something that resides in the Documents and Settings, it won't accept it because of the spaces in documents and settings.

Example: python C:\Documents and Settings\addres sbook.py
python: can't open file 'C:\Documents': [Errno 2] No such file or directory.

But if I enclose the whole thing in quotes, it works... I want to get rid of the whole entire path being written out!

it has to do with the OS shell, not Python. The OS will not know where your addressbook.py is found unless you provide the path. Putting double quotes around file paths with spaces is the correct thing to do in windows command prompt.

[bartonc]

it has to do with the OS shell, not Python. The OS will not know where your addressbook.py is found unless you provide the path. Putting double quotes around file paths with spaces is the correct thing to do in windows command prompt.

I think that I had it right:

<snip>I want to get rid of the whole entire path being written out!

[ghostdog74]

site-packages is where almost all things that you add to python will be stored.
On my system it's "D:\Python24\Li b\site-packages". Yours may be slightly different.

In that folder, make a text file with paths in it that you want python to search every time you call python from the command-line or do an import. ie

MyPathFile.pth
C:\My Documents\etc.. .

sorry quite confused on OP's requirement now. If i understand correctly, OP doesn't want to type in the full path name of his script such that he can just type
c:\> python myscript.py
while his myscript.py is stored in say, C:\somedir\some subdir , right?
Here's an example of what I interpreted, I am calling os.py ( the os module) from , say C:\ drive

c:\Python24\Lib> python os.py <--- runs without error, because we are in actual directory where os.py is

c:\Python24\Lib> cd \

c:\>python os.py  <-- change to C:\ drive,
python: can't open file 'os.py': [Errno 2] No such file or directory

Is this what OP is trying to do?

[St33med]

Yes, that is what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to have command prompt be able to go to the file I specify for python, but without the entire path being written out (unless necessary for two files that have the same name...

Can you guys do that without the path? Or do you have to put in the entire path?

[ghostdog74]

Yes, that is what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to have command prompt be able to go to the file I specify for python, but without the entire path being written out (unless necessary for two files that have the same name...

Can you guys do that without the path? Or do you have to put in the entire path?

Not that i know of , AFAIK.
there's no harm trying the .pth method as descibed though, and see if you can get the results you want.

[bartonc]

Yes, that is what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to have command prompt be able to go to the file I specify for python, but without the entire path being written out (unless necessary for two files that have the same name...

Can you guys do that without the path? Or do you have to put in the entire path?

Yes. See reply #8.

[ghostdog74]

Yes. See reply #8.

hi barton, let's try this ok, just to verify if i understand you. In my environment, I have C:\Python24\lib \site-packages\. And under this site-packages directory, i have a pywin32.pth file. The contents of this pywin32.pth file looks like this:

#.pth file for PyWin32 extensions
win32
win32\lib
Pythonwin

This is my environment. Opening an interactive prompt, I type

>>> import win32com.client.connect
>>>

and this works as supposed to be. Now, if I were to call up connect.py from the command line at c:\> drive,

c:\> python connect.py
python: can't open 'connect.py': [Errno 2] No such file or directory

even though pywin32.pth is there in site-packages. Am i doing this correctly?