How to Install PyCreate

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology -
Computer Science & Software Engineering

Overview

Once you have installed Eclipse, follow these directions to download Python and the Eclipse plug-in for Python, and then configure Eclipse to develop code on Python.

Make sure all required software is installed

1. Bluetooth transmitter

   Follow these instructions to install it on the HP laptops. Your laptop did NOT come preconfigured with this!

2. Python 2.6

   The 2009-2010 and later freshmen laptops came with Python 2.6.
   1. If you need to install it, follow these instructions.

Install required libraries and pycreate

1. Follow this link to download the local installer for the Python on Windows library: pywin32-212.win32-py2.6.exe. Run it.
2. Follow this link to download the local installer for the serial connection library: pyserial-2.4.win32.exe. Run it.
3. Download the pycreate module and documentation in this zip file.
4. Extract the zip file using whatever tool you use for that on your laptop.
5. Move the file create.py to the folder C:\Program Files\Python26\Lib\site-packages

   Potential “gotchas” (1) That is Lib not libs in the path. (2) if you installed Python in a different location than Program Files\Python26 you’ll need to find your Python26\Lib\site-packages folder.

6. If there is a create.pyc file in that folder, remove it. An up-to-date one will be regenerated the next time you run a program that imports create.py.
7. Also included is a file containing documentation for the pycreate library. This file is called pycreate.pdf. Move that file to a place where it will be easy to find. We suggest My Documents\Courses\CSSE 120.

Verify your installation

1. Launch IDLE by clicking Start → All Programs → Python 2.6 → IDLE (Python GUI)
2. At the prompt, type:
   from create import *
3. If you do not get an error message, then the installation was successful.