2.2 Installing Python from Binaries

If your platform is popular and current, you may find a prebuilt and packaged binary version of Python ready for installation. Binary packages are typically self-installing, either directly as executable programs, or via appropriate system tools, such as the RedHat Package Manager (RPM) on Linux and the Microsoft Installer (MSI) on Windows. Once you have downloaded a package, install it by running the program and interactively choosing installation parameters, such as the directory where Python is to be installed.

To download Python binaries, visit http://www.python.org and follow the link labeled Download. At the time of this writing, the only binary installer directly available from the main Python site is a Windows installer executable:

http://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.2.2/Python-2.2.2.exe

Many third parties supply free binary Python installers for other platforms. For Linux distributions, see http://rpmfind.net if your distribution is RPM-based (RedHat, Mandrake, SUSE, and so on) or http://www.debian.org for Debian. The site http://www.python.org/download/ provides links to binary distributions for Macintosh, OS/2, Amiga, RISC OS, QNX, VxWorks, IBM AS/400, Sony PlayStation 2, and Sharp Zaurus. Older Python versions, mainly 1.5.2, are also usable and functional, though not as powerful and polished as the current Python 2.2.2. The download page provides links to 1.5.2 installers for older or less popular platforms (MS-DOS, Windows 3.1, Psion, BeOS, etc.).

ActivePython (http://www.activestate.com/Products/ActivePython) is a binary package of Python 2.2 for 32-bit versions of Windows and x86 Linux.