[ale] simple python question

[Brian Pitts]

Thomas Stromberg wrote:
> The easiest way to explore things like this is to just open up the
> interactive python interpreter, by typing 'python' on your command
> line. Then you can enter things in as you please:

There's a nice alternative to the normal python shell.

http://ipython.scipy.org/moin/

# An enhanced Python shell designed for efficient interactive work. It 
includes many enhancements over the default Python shell, including the 
ability for controlling interactively all major GUI toolkits in a 
non-blocking manner.
# A library to build customized interactive environments using Python as 
the basic language (but with the possibility of having extended or 
alternate syntaxes).
# A system for interactive distributed and parallel computing (this is 
part of IPython's new development).

-Brian