Python in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

Installing Jython

To install Jython, you need a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) that complies with Java 1.1 or higher. See http://www.jython.org/platform.html for advice on JVMs for your platform.

To download Jython, visit http://www.jython.org and follow the link labeled Download. The latest version, which at the time of this writing (supporting some Python 2.3 features, as well as all of Python 2.2) is:

• http://prdownloads.sf.net/jython/jython-22.class

In the following section, for clarity, I assume you have created a new directory named C:\Jy and downloaded jython-22.class there. Of course, you can choose to name and place the directory as it best suits you. On Unix-like platforms, in particular, the directory name will probably be something like ~/Jy.

The Jython installer .class file is a self-installing program. Open an MS-DOS Prompt window (or a shell prompt on a Unix-like platform), change directory to C:\Jy, and run your Java interpreter on the Jython installer. Make sure to include directory C:\Jy in the Java CLASSPATH. With most releases of Sun’s Java Development Kit (JDK), for example, you can run:

C:\Jy> java -cp . jython-22

This runs a GUI installer that lets you choose destination directory and options. If you want to avoid the GUI, you can use the -o switch on the command line. The switch lets you specify the installation directory and options on the command line. For example:

C:\Jy> java -cp . jython-22 -o C:\Jython-2.2 demo lib source

installs Jython, with all optional components ...