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Diffstat (limited to 'Doc/library/idle.rst')
| -rw-r--r-- | Doc/library/idle.rst | 44 |
1 files changed, 44 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Doc/library/idle.rst b/Doc/library/idle.rst index 1a2dac0..a945b6d 100644 --- a/Doc/library/idle.rst +++ b/Doc/library/idle.rst @@ -552,6 +552,50 @@ If there are arguments: ``sys.argv`` reflects the arguments passed to IDLE itself. +Startup failure +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +IDLE uses a socket to communicate between the IDLE GUI process and the user +code execution process. A connection must be established whenever the Shell +starts or restarts. (The latter is indicated by a divider line that says +'RESTART'). If the user process fails to connect to the GUI process, it +displays a ``Tk`` error box with a 'cannot connect' message that directs the +user here. It then exits. + +A common cause of failure is a user-written file with the same name as a +standard library module, such as *random.py* and *tkinter.py*. When such a +file is located in the same directory as a file that is about to be run, +IDLE cannot import the stdlib file. The current fix is to rename the +user file. + +Though less common than in the past, an antivirus or firewall program may +stop the connection. If the program cannot be taught to allow the +connection, then it must be turned off for IDLE to work. It is safe to +allow this internal connection because no data is visible on external +ports. A similar problem is a network mis-configuration that blocks +connections. + +Python installation issues occasionally stop IDLE: multiple versions can +clash, or a single installation might need admin access. If one undo the +clash, or cannot or does not want to run as admin, it might be easiest to +completely remove Python and start over. + +A zombie pythonw.exe process could be a problem. On Windows, use Task +Manager to detect and stop one. Sometimes a restart initiated by a program +crash or Keyboard Interrupt (control-C) may fail to connect. Dismissing +the error box or Restart Shell on the Shell menu may fix a temporary problem. + +When IDLE first starts, it attempts to read user configuration files in +~/.idlerc/ (~ is one's home directory). If there is a problem, an error +message should be displayed. Leaving aside random disk glitches, this can +be prevented by never editing the files by hand, using the configuration +dialog, under Options, instead Options. Once it happens, the solution may +be to delete one or more of the configuration files. + +If IDLE quits with no message, and it was not started from a console, try +starting from a console (``python -m idlelib)`` and see if a message appears. + + IDLE-console differences ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |