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diff --git a/Doc/faq/installed.rst b/Doc/faq/installed.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..390c85a --- /dev/null +++ b/Doc/faq/installed.rst @@ -0,0 +1,53 @@ +============================================= +"Why is Python Installed on my Computer?" FAQ +============================================= + +What is Python? +--------------- + +Python is a programming language. It's used for many different applications. +It's used in some high schools and colleges as an introductory programming +language because Python is easy to learn, but it's also used by professional +software developers at places such as Google, NASA, and Lucasfilm Ltd. + +If you wish to learn more about Python, start with the `Beginner's Guide to +Python <http://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide>`_. + + +Why is Python installed on my machine? +-------------------------------------- + +If you find Python installed on your system but don't remember installing it, +there are several possible ways it could have gotten there. + +* Perhaps another user on the computer wanted to learn programming and installed + it; you'll have to figure out who's been using the machine and might have + installed it. +* A third-party application installed on the machine might have been written in + Python and included a Python installation. For a home computer, the most + common such application is `PySol <http://pysolfc.sourceforge.net/>`_, a + solitaire game that includes over 1000 different games and variations. +* Some Windows machines also have Python installed. At this writing we're aware + of computers from Hewlett-Packard and Compaq that include Python. Apparently + some of HP/Compaq's administrative tools are written in Python. +* All Apple computers running Mac OS X have Python installed; it's included in + the base installation. + + +Can I delete Python? +-------------------- + +That depends on where Python came from. + +If someone installed it deliberately, you can remove it without hurting +anything. On Windows, use the Add/Remove Programs icon in the Control Panel. + +If Python was installed by a third-party application, you can also remove it, +but that application will no longer work. You should use that application's +uninstaller rather than removing Python directly. + +If Python came with your operating system, removing it is not recommended. If +you remove it, whatever tools were written in Python will no longer run, and +some of them might be important to you. Reinstalling the whole system would +then be required to fix things again. + |