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- Install Python Mac Os
This short tutorial will show you how to properly install Python 3 on a Mac OS X computer. There are multiple ways to install Python 3, including a download from the official Python site, however I strongly recommend instead using a package manager like Homebrew to manage all your dependencies going forward. It will make your life a lot simpler.
Sep 10, 2019 virtualenv must be installed separately but supports Python 2.7+ and Python 3.3+ Pipenv is a higher-level tool that automatically manages a separate virtual environment for each project On MacOS we can install Pipenv with HomeBrew. Python is a widely used high-level programming language for general-purpose programming. Python for Mac provides constructs intended to enable writing clear programs on both a small and large scale, allowing programmers to express concepts in fewer lines of code on macOS. I installed Python 3 to learn Python and quickly realized that django isn't compatible with Python 3. How do I uninstall Python 3 on my Mac so that I can install a different version?
Confirm your Python version
- Apple’s Mac OS comes with python 2.7 installed by default. Perhaps you may want to use python 3.x.x on your machine and also use pip for package management with python 3.x.x. The easiest way to achieve this is.
- If you’re a Python user you may already be familiar with the handy trick that allows you to instantly create a simple web server using an easy command string entered in the command line of Mac OS. But if you’re a Mac Python user who has installed or updated to Python 3, then you will find the.
Although Python 2 is installed by default on Apple computers, Python 3 is not. You can confirm this by typing in Terminal
python --version
and hitting Enter:To check if Python 3 is already installed try running the command
python3 --version
. Most likely you’ll see an error message, but it’s worth checking. Even if you have a version of Python 3, we want to be on the most recent release, which is 3.7.4 at this point in 2019.Install Xcode and Homebrew
We will use the package manager Homebrew to install Python 3. Homebrew depends on Apple’s Xcode package, so run the following command to install it:
Click through all the confirmation commands (Xcode is a large program so this might take a while to install depending on your internet connection).
Next, install Homebrew: Visio for mac freeware.
![Download Download](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133913321/534088212.png)
Note: You can also find this command on the homepage of the Homebrew website. It’s easiest to copy and paste since it’s a long command.
To confirm Homebrew installed correctly, run this command:
Install Python 3
To install the latest version of Python, run the following command:
Now let’s confirm which version was installed:
To open a Python 3 shell from the command line type python3:
Python 3 For Mac Os
When you want to exit, type
exit()
and then Return or Ctrl-D
(the Control and D key at the same time).Note you can still run Python shells with Python 2 by simply typing
python
:Bonus: Virtual Environments
By default, Python packages are installed globally on your computer in a single directory. Which can cause major problems when working on multiple Python projects!
For example, image you have Project A that relies upon Django 1.11 whereas Project B uses Django 2.2. If you naively installed Django on your computer, only the latest install would be present and available in that single directory. Then consider that most Python projects rely on multiple packages that each have their own version numbers. There’s simply no way to keep everything straight and not inadvertently break things with the wrong package versions.
The solution is to use a virtual environment for each project, an isolated directory, rather than installing Python packages globally.
Confusingly, there are multiple tools for virtual environments in Python:
- venv is available by default on Python 3.3+
- virtualenv must be installed separately but supports Python 2.7+ and Python 3.3+
- Pipenv is a higher-level tool that automatically manages a separate virtual environment for each project
On MacOS we can install Pipenv with HomeBrew.
Then use Pipenv for any Python packages you wish to install. For example, if you want to work with Django 2.2.6, first create a dedicated directory for it on your computer such as in a django directory on your Desktop.
Then install Django within that directory.
If you look within the directory there are now two new files,
Pipfile
and Pipfile.lock
, which Pipenv uses. To activate the virtual environment type pipenv shell
.There will now be parentheses around the name of your current directory which indicates the virtual environment is activate. To exit the virtual environment, type exit.
The lack of parentheses confirms the virtual environment is no longer active.
Want to improve your Python? I have a list of recommended Python books.
When you get a brand-new Mac, you might assume it’s loaded up with brand-new software. And for most apps, you’d be right. For underlying frameworks, however, it’s a different story. Brand-new Macs fresh from the factory floor still ship with Python 2.7.10, even though the most recent stable release is Python 3.6.1. This might seem like a pretty significant gap between versions, and that’s because it is. But newer isn’t always better. Format hard drive for mac and windows. Python 2 is still the default language, but that’s likely to change in the coming years.
2to3 or not 2to3?
It’s natural think that Python 3 is better because it’s newer. They wouldn’t be totally wrong: Python 3 includes some cool new features that Python 2 lacks. However, alongside those new features, Python 3 also has a problem. It’s not backwards compatible with Python 2. That means that programs written for a Python 2 interpreter won’t run on a Python 3 interpreter. Even fundamental commands like
print
and integer comparison work differently between Python 2 and 3, complicating the process of moving from one language to another. You can check out a list of the most significant changes on the Python 3.0 documentation.But why hasn’t the whole world switched over to Python 3? The main problem is that there’s a lack of compelling motivation. Python 2 is a strong language, and only power users will get to experience the full benefit of Python 3’s new features. Plus, Python 2.7.10 is pre-installed on all Macs and a number of Linux distros. With the significant differences between the two versions and the work required to convert from 2 to 3, it’s hard to find strong reasons to move Python 2 apps to Python 3. It’s true that utilities like 2to3 make it easier to transform a Python 2 program into valid Python 3 syntax, but if you’ve ever used Google Translate, you know this won’t be perfect.
Unfortunately, Python 2 isn’t going to be around forever. The developers have set 2020 as the final year for Python 2 support, and everyone will need to transition their programs over to Python 3 by then. If you’re writing new programs in Python, you might be interested in starting to use Python 3. But first, you’ll need to install a Python 3 interpreter on your Mac.
Upgrading to Python 3 on your Mac
Even if it isn’t the de facto standard, you can run Python 3 on your Mac today. You can even run it alongside a concurrent Python 2.7 installation without affecting the version 2.7 installation.
![Python 3 For Mac Python 3 For Mac](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133913321/622169439.jpg)
1. Download the most recent package from the Python website.
2. Double-click the downloaded package and run the Python installer.
3. Once the installer is finished, you’ll find a new Python 3.6.1 folder inside of the Applications directory. The installer also installed the Python interpreter and binaries in your /usr/local/bin folder.
4. This folder contains a GUI for launching Python applications called Python Launcher. It also includes IDLE, an IDE for developing Python applications, a link to Python’s documentation and miscellaneous documents.
Launching Python 3 from the Terminal
1. If you want to run a Python 3 script or application from the command line, you’ll need to use the command
python3
. Notice the difference when compared to the python
command, which runs Python 2.7. If you end up using Python 3 as your primary interpreter, you can change this alias, but python3
is the default.2. Without additional arguments, the
python3
command will invoke the Python 3 interactive interpreter. This allows you to type Python 3 code into the Terminal and run it on a line-by-line basis.3. If you do something a little more useful and run a script with the Python 3 interpreter, follow the
python3
command with the path to your .py
file.Launching Python 3 from the GUI
You can also run Python 3 programs from the Python Launcher GUI.
Mac Os Update Python 3
1. Open the Python Launcher found in “/Applications/Python 3.6.1.” (Note that the version number in the Python folder’s name will change with future versions of Python. Just look for the one that starts with a 3.)
2. This opens the Preferences window for the launcher. The application is set to run everything with a Python 2 interpreter by default, but we can change that. Change the path under “Interpreter” to “/usr/local/bin/python3”, which is the default directory of the Python 3 interpreter.
3. Chose “File > Open…” from the menu bar. Then, select the Python program you want to run.
4. The selected program will now run. GUI programs will launch their visual interface, and scripts will run in the Terminal window.
You can also run Python programs with the GUI by adding the Python launcher icon to your Dock and dragging Python scripts on top of it.
Conclusion
Getting Python 3 running on your Mac ins’t hard. However, changing your coding habits can take some time. If you’ve been writing Python 2 for a while now, switching to Python 3 can be a tedious and frustrating process. You’ll have to update your knowledge eventually, however, so you may as well get started now, while you’ve got a couple of years ahead of you.
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