No, but I do recommend clicking that to get to the latest release’s page. It’s the release’s page which has the “Recommended” file (64-bit Windows full installer)
That’s exactly what I meant about writing instructions that work on every platform except Windows. A lot of authors do that. It’s just not worth everyone’s hassle to try to write for everyone.
When you follow a third party book’s instructions, you’re at the mercy of that author.
Unfortunately the ways Python can be installed on Windows platforms make it very difficult for beginners. 
Depending on the way you install Python using the official installers by Python Software Foundation you can end up with three different names how to call the Python interpreter:
-
python— exe installer, PATH set -
py— exe installer, Python launcher installed -
python3— MS Store installer
…and I did not mentionpythonw…
python3 is the normal name on all other platforms.
The store distribution also creates an alias for “python.exe” by default. The appexec aliases can be enabled and disabled individually in the settings, in apps → apps & features → app execution aliases. This includes all of the following for 3.11:
- python.exe, python3.exe, python3.11.exe
- pythonw.exe, pythonw3.exe, pythonw3.11.exe
- pip.exe, pip3.exe, pip3.11.exe
- idle.exe, idle3.exe, idle3.11.exe
You can enable the base name or “3” suffix for some other version. For example, “python.exe” can be an alias for 3.10, while “python3.exe” is an alias for 3.11. Personally, I disable the base “python[w].exe” aliases because I use my own build in PATH.
Yes, but note that “python” is also sometimes used for 3.x on non-Windows platforms. It’s not always 2.x. On Ubuntu, I have the “python-is-python3” package installed that configures “/usr/bin/python” as a symlink to “python3”.
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It’s very easy to never be shown that:
- Start at https://www.python.org/
- Look for “Download”. My eyes are drawn to this nice section:
- The only clickable element there takes you to this page. The URL sounds plausible, so you assume you are in the right place.
- But on this very long page there is no obvious download button.
- The inconspicuous “Recommended” text is strangely at the very end, quite well hidden.
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@petersuter Maybe that section you show should just be removed as confusing, then. FWIW there is a “Downloads” menu item at the very top of the page, before that section. Clicking it takes you to the /downloads page with with the big button from above, or else hovering over it opens a context menu with its own big button that directly downloads the latest installer your your detected platform.
The current Microsoft store ‘Python3’ installs Python in a way such that IDLE will not run due to an IDLE bug (since fixed but not released). IDLE runs file with python.org 3.11.0 or 3.10.8 with the test files installed (which is the default). Install the amd64.exe files unless you know you need something else. As of this date (Oct 26) Install 3.11 if you only use the stdlib or know that and 3rd party modules you want to use are available for 3.11.0, released yesterday. Install 3.10 to use most and package on pypi. If needed, install both and use the py launcher to select which to run.
Is there an issue for this? The aliases for “idle.exe”, “idle3.exe”, and “idle3.11.exe” all run IDLE fine for me, as does python3.exe -m idlelib, pythonw3.exe -m idlelib, python3.11.exe -m idlelib, and pythonw3.11.exe -m idlelib. The same goes for the 3.10 aliases.
IMO the section is good and should not be removed. The link to the “Download for Windows” should be added to it. The downloads menu is not noticeable enough and navigating popup menus is cumbersome. Why hide the most important piece of information there? Also I think the entire blue section at the top on the main page and on the downloads page is in the “ads blind spot”.
gh-98324 It was the 3.10.2288.0 store version of 3.10.8 (and Windows 3.10.8 with installation of Lib/test unchecked) that failed for multiple people with
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'test'
My response with explanation and remedies 3.10.8 IDLE startup failure: No module named 'test' · Issue #98324 · python/cpython · GitHub. 3.11.0 is fine and if the store now installs that, great.
Thanks for the explanation and reference[1]. I was checking 3.11.0 and 3.10.7. I see the issue now that I updated to 3.10.8. At least 3.11.0 is out, which doesn’t have the problem.
I don’t want to discourage novice users on Windows from using the PSF’s Python 3 package on the Microsoft Store. It is perfect for their needs. They only need one version of Python installed. They don’t need the py launcher. By default the store version supports the “python3” executable name that’s commonly used in tutorials, which should always be in PATH. All they have to do is run python3 in CMD or PowerShell, which should open the store to the latest Python 3 package to install. Once it’s installed, they’re ready to get started. There’s nothing else to configure, and there should be no confusion about what to run (e.g. with the full installer, some people with little experience get stuck trying to run Python via the installer itself).
I think you should try to set
macosx._tk_typeto “cocoa” from the tests themselves, and skip setting it in_init_tk_type()if it’s notNone. Nothing else in the standard library imports fromtest, except for other tests. I know the import is gated by thetestingparameter, but mixing these levels feels wrong to me. ↩︎
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