Building a binary OSX installer

Some notes towards a binary installer installing some packages to allow people to get going with nipy in particular:

• Python
• Numpy
• Matplotlib
• Sympy
• IPython + notebook
• Nibabel
• Nipy

Python

Note options to configure command in cpython source code - http://hg.python.org/cpython/

Note OSX framework build script in Mac/BuildScript/build-installer.sh which should be run from its own directory.

It needs a tcl/tk to link against, ActiveTcl 8.5 is one option - see http://www.python.org/getit/mac/tcltk

Some understanding of OSX frameworks would help me out:

• http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/BPFrameworks/Frameworks.html

IDLE.app goes in Applications, Framework goes in /Library/Frameworks/Python.frameworks/Versions/X.Y, and the postflight script puts the installed python into the path: Mac/BuildScript\scripts. Some scripts go into /usr/local/bin (what's wrong with /Library/Frameworks/Python.frameworks/Versions/X.Y/bin?).

Questions

• What's the advantage of a Framework for the python build?
• Is there any advantage to putting the python framework in /Library/Frameworks/Python.frameworks/Versions/X.Y rather than (say) /Library/Frameworks/MyPython.frameworks/Versions/X.Y or /Library/Frameworks/Python.frameworks/Versions/my-X.Y?
• Is there any problem about building to one directory (/tmp/my_build/Library/Library/Frameworks/Python.frameworks/Versions/X.Y) and installing later to another (/Library/Frameworks/Python.frameworks/Versions/X.Y)

More references

Script for building a DMG:

https://github.com/andreyvit/yoursway-create-dmg

Other thoughts

Relationship to homebrew and macports?

Relationship to EPD and Anaconda? (not cross platform).