Movable Python: The Portable Python Distribution

Movable Python

The Portable Programming Environment

Quotes

Movable Python has the potential to affect your programming life even more than Microsoft's embrace. Yes, it's that important.

-- Cameron Laird

Zope on a rope! Movable Python allows me to carry Zope3.2 and my development environment everywhere I go. It's a great product, I love it.

-- Kevin Smith

Movpy Docs Index

Sub Sections

Movpy Manual
The index to the Movable Python manual. It includes an overview of the Movable Python GUI, with links to the relevant pages.

Note

To purchase Movable Python, visit the Movable Python Shop.

There is a free Trial Version of Movable Python available from the shop.

There is also a portable version of IDLE available for free download. This is Movable IDLE, for Python 2.4.3. It comes with the full Python standard library, and so should run most Python programs.

Python on a Stick

emoticon:python Movable Python is a distribution of Python for Windows that doesn't need to be installed. It easily fits onto a USB memory stick or flash drive. Python on a stick.

It includes an IDE and many common Python extensions, to make Movable Python a portable Build, Test, and Run environment. It has a nice GUI to launch programs and control its behaviour.

Movable Python is useful in the following situations:

Machines where you can't install programs.
Creating a sandboxed installation of Python for testing programs.
Where you need a portable 'Build, Test, and Run' Python environment.
Having several versions of Python on the same machine for forward/backward compatibility testing. (See the Mega-Pack.)
Easily deploying Python scripts without having to install Python.
Try before you buy - test Python without having to install it, including new versions.
'Python Runtime Environment'. '.py' files can be associated with movpy.

For more examples of how you can use Movable Python, see the Use Cases page.

Note

If you like Movable Python, don't forget to check out the other Voidspace Python Projects.

Movable Python can be used to launch scripts with several different interpreters from a single interface. It can detect an installed version of Python and you can switch between that and any Movpy interpreters you may have, including passing command line arguments and configuring Movpy [1].

As well as launching Python scripts, you can use Movable Python as a graphical front end to any program. You may never need to use the command line again.

For a fuller introduction to Movable Python (including how to obtain it), read the Introduction or ask on the Mailing List.

If you would like to try Movable Python, you can get a free demo version from the Movable Python Shop. This is for Python 2.3.5, has a 'nag screen' when you run it and will expire eventually. (When you run it it will tell you when it is due to expire.) Other than that, it is the complete distribution.

For instructions on how to use Movable Python, you might want to visit The Reference Manual.

Oh, and by the way, it's Movable Python, not Moveable Python.

[1]	Features of Movable Python include the ability to log the output of all files you run with it, and to enable psyco.

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Page last modified Mon Oct 23 00:28:10 2006.