Professional IronPython

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CHAPTER 6
Using the Python standard Library
The IDLE debugger has no concept of breakpoints. You have no immediate window for entering 
commands or watch windows to track expressions. Even so, the debugger does work well, even if it 
does take a while for the .NET developer to get used to it.
Looking for standard Library Issues
It’s important to exercise care when working with the Standard Library. Sometimes, it appears that 
IronPython provides support for a feature when it really doesn’t. For example, Listing 6-1 shows 
an application that runs fine within IDLE because IDLE relies on the Python interpreter, not the 
IronPython interpreter.
LIsTIng 6-1: 
 An example of a Standard Library application
from Tkinter import *
import aboutDialog
# Represents the main window of an application.
root = Tk()
class TestIDLE:
“Defines a basic test of IDLE”
def ShowAbout(self):
“Display the IDLE About dialog box”
aboutDialog.AboutDialog(root, ‘About’)
# Make sure you destroy the window when you get done with it.
root.destroy()
def SayHello():
“A very basic function in Python”
print ‘Hello’
# Set the path to include the application directory.
import sys 
sys.path.append(‘C:\\0255 - Source Code\\Chapter06’)
print sys.path
# Call SayHello()
SayHello()
# Display the IDLE About dialog box.
MyAbout = TestIDLE()
MyAbout.ShowAbout()
This is an interesting example because it displays the IDLE About dialog box. When you run this 
example, the code begins by doing something simple — it modifies the path to point to the example 
directory and then it displays a simple hello message to the user.
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