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> In my case, first I tried using the latest Python 3.13.9 both from Windows 7 (bad idea due to resource fork loss) and macOS 10.14.6 Mojave, but neither worked

by Kwpolska 11mo ago

> In my case, first I tried using the latest Python 3.13.9 both from Windows 7 (bad idea due to resource fork loss) and macOS 10.14.6 Mojave, but neither worked: it seems like that version of Python was just too new. I then retried with Python 3.8.10 instead (which I chose thinking it might be more period-appropriate for the script's age) on Mojave, which worked flawlessly. Ah, classic Python. Removing features [0] and breaking perfectly working software just because the feature is old, ugly, and not widely used. [0] https://github.com/elliotnunn/tbxi/issues/1 https://github.com/elliotnunn/tbxi/issues/1

elliotnunn 11mo ago
Max frustrating. If I were writing tbxi again it would be in Go.
- chongli 11mo ago
  Why not C89? Try to make it as portable as possible. The software is intended for preservation of old computers and their software. Would make sense for the software to be as portable as possible. Who knows, maybe someone would want to run it on vintage Mac hardware?
  - anthk 11mo ago
    It already exists. But, if any, Free Pascal with Lazarus for classic Mac ppc would be ideal. Put that MacSSL port available under fpc and now you can compete with the rest.
  - elliotnunn 11mo ago
    This is a good point. For a while, I was writing vintage Mac hacking tools in ANSI C [1]. The answer is that it's too hard. I want to see the Happy Mac on as much exotic hardware as possible, but my day job keeps me very busy, and I want to enjoy my hobby without tedium and toil. I prefer to use a language that is "easier to write, easier to read, easier to understand, easier to maintain" [2]. [1] https://github.com/elliotnunn/mac-rom/blob/master/Tools/ToolSource/Vectorize.c https://github.com/elliotnunn/mac-rom/blob/master/Tools/Tool... [2] https://commandcenter.blogspot.com/2012/06/less-is-exponentially-more.html https://commandcenter.blogspot.com/2012/06/less-is-exponenti...
- zahlman 11mo ago
  I commented on the GitHub issue rather than here, if you're interested. I'd like to help make this work.
zahlman 11mo ago
That's a bit reductive. We're talking about something only relevant to retrocomputing (MacOS 9 is unsupported as of early 2002 per Wikipedia) where they could scarcely find evidence of anyone using it at all. And taking these things out of the standard library means that core devs can wash their hands of it. (It also means that a large majority of users can avoid downloading and storing things that will always be useless to them; but nobody seems to care about that sort of thing any more, much to my chagrin.) https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/83534 https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/83534

elliotnunn 11mo ago

Max frustrating. If I were writing tbxi again it would be in Go.

chongli 11mo ago
Why not C89? Try to make it as portable as possible. The software is intended for preservation of old computers and their software. Would make sense for the software to be as portable as possible. Who knows, maybe someone would want to run it on vintage Mac hardware?
- anthk 11mo ago
  It already exists. But, if any, Free Pascal with Lazarus for classic Mac ppc would be ideal. Put that MacSSL port available under fpc and now you can compete with the rest.
- elliotnunn 11mo ago
  This is a good point. For a while, I was writing vintage Mac hacking tools in ANSI C [1]. The answer is that it's too hard. I want to see the Happy Mac on as much exotic hardware as possible, but my day job keeps me very busy, and I want to enjoy my hobby without tedium and toil. I prefer to use a language that is "easier to write, easier to read, easier to understand, easier to maintain" [2]. [1] https://github.com/elliotnunn/mac-rom/blob/master/Tools/ToolSource/Vectorize.c https://github.com/elliotnunn/mac-rom/blob/master/Tools/Tool... [2] https://commandcenter.blogspot.com/2012/06/less-is-exponentially-more.html https://commandcenter.blogspot.com/2012/06/less-is-exponenti...
zahlman 11mo ago
I commented on the GitHub issue rather than here, if you're interested. I'd like to help make this work.

zahlman 11mo ago

That's a bit reductive. We're talking about something only relevant to retrocomputing (MacOS 9 is unsupported as of early 2002 per Wikipedia) where they could scarcely find evidence of anyone using it at all. And taking these things out of the standard library means that core devs can wash their hands of it. (It also means that a large majority of users can avoid downloading and storing things that will always be useless to them; but nobody seems to care about that sort of thing any more, much to my chagrin.) https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/83534 https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/83534