IDLE Problem in Windows XP

[Branden Smith]

Hi,

I am a teaching assistant for an introductory course at Georgia Tech
which uses Python, and I have a student who has been unable to start
IDLE on her Windows XP Home Edition machine. Clicking on the shortcut
(or the program executable) causes the hourglass to appear momentarily
(and the process to momentarily appear in the process monitor), but
nothing happens thereafter.

Attempting to start IDLE from the script results in exactly the same
output described in this discussion, suggesting that a socket error
occurs, presumably for the Python loopback connection:

https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&atid=105470&aid=1017978&group_id=5470

The potential solutions mentioned in the discussion have had no effect,
however. Obviously, something is preventing Python from establishing a
loopback socket connection, but after disabling firewall software,
antiviral software, and Windows's built-in firewall, the problem remains.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what might cause this problem? It shows
up with both Python 2.4 and 2.3. Version 2.2 works as it should.

Thanks,

Branden Smith .::. CS 1321 TA
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Josiah Carlson]

Hi,

I am a teaching assistant for an introductory course at Georgia Tech
which uses Python, and I have a student who has been unable to start
IDLE on her Windows XP Home Edition machine. Clicking on the shortcut
(or the program executable) causes the hourglass to appear momentarily
(and the process to momentarily appear in the process monitor), but
nothing happens thereafter. ...

Does anyone have any ideas as to what might cause this problem? It shows
up with both Python 2.4 and 2.3. Version 2.2 works as it should.

It is probably the socket issue. To get past the socket issue,
according to the idle docs:

Running without a subprocess:

If IDLE is started with the -n command line switch it will run in a
single process and will not create the subprocess which runs the RPC
Python execution server. This can be useful if Python cannot create
the subprocess or the RPC socket interface on your platform. However,
in this mode user code is not isolated from IDLE itself. Also, the
environment is not restarted when Run/Run Module (F5) is selected. If
your code has been modified, you must reload() the affected modules and
re-import any specific items (e.g. from foo import baz) if the changes
are to take effect. For these reasons, it is preferable to run IDLE
with the default subprocess if at all possible.



That is, have the student modify the shortcut to pass a '-n' argument
(without the quotes) to the command. If it works, great, if it doesn't,
a traceback would be helpful.

- Josiah