Datasheet

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CHAPTER 1 Discovering ironPython
(Optional) Visual Studio 2005 or Visual Studio 2008 (your system must meet the prerequi-

sites for this software)
(Optional) .NET Framework 2.0 Software Development Kit (SDK)

You need only the optional requirements if you plan to build IronPython 2.6 from the source code.
Here are the requirements for the .NET Framework 4.0 version (again, the optional requirements
are there if you want to build IronPython from source code).
The .NET Framework 4.0

(Optional) Visual Studio 2010

Getting the Software
As with most open source software, you have a number of choices when it comes to download-
ing IronPython. For the sake of your sanity, the best choice when starting with IronPython is to
download the binary version of the product from
http://ironpython.codeplex.com/Release/
ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=30315
. You’ll see the Microsoft Installer (MSI) link right
below the Recommended Download link as IronPython-2.6.msi. If you really must save the few
seconds downloading the MSI version, select the IronPython-2.6-Bin.zip link instead.
It’s also possible to compile IronPython from the source code. If you want to use this option, select the
IronPython-2.6-Src.zip link. You must have a copy of Visual Studio installed on your system to use
this option. The “Building the Binaries from Scratch” section of the chapter describes how to build a
version from scratch, but this process truly isn’t for the IronPython beginner and doesn’t serve much of
a purpose unless you plan to add your own enhancements.
Most developers will likely use the standard version of IronPython that works
with the .NET Framework 3.5 and earlier. However, you might need some of
the new features in the .NET Framework 4.0, such as the C#
dynamic keyword,
which is part of the Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR) (
http://dlr.codeplex
.com/
). The section “Understanding the Dynamic Language Runtime” later in this
chapter tells you more about this .NET 4.0 feature. You can obtain this version of
IronPython at
http://ironpython.codeplex.com/Release/ProjectReleases
.aspx?ReleaseId=27320
. The examples in this book will work with either version
of IronPython 2.6, except where noted (where I’m demonstrating how to work
with the DLR).
Performing the Installation
This section assumes that you’ve downloaded the MSI file to make life easy for yourself. This pro-
cedure works equally well for either version of IronPython 2.6 so you can use it for a DLR install as
well. The following instructions help you get IronPython installed on your machine.
1. Double-click the MSI file you downloaded from the CodePlex Web site. You’ll see the usual
Welcome page — click Next to get past it.
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