Hi! (Background: I'm on a Mac G4 running OS 10.4.7, "Python 2.4.3 (#1, Apr 7 2006, 10:54:33) [GCC 4.0.1 (Apple Computer, Inc. build 5250)] on darwin", matplotlib version 0.87.4. I'm trying to solve some x-axis tick labeling problems I'm having using plot_date; I'm toying with the example date_demo_convert.py to try to learn what changes have what effect. I have the folder MPL_examples on my Desktop, and am running my modifications from a terminal therein.) In the terminal, I launch python, import matplotlib, type help(matplotlib.<matplotlib module
) (it doesn't seem to matter which member I request help on) and
instead of getting the doc displayed in the terminal, a new GUI instance of python is launched and displays the following window:
Nothing happens in the terminal, so I try to quit this new instance of python from the menu bar, and the terminal prints:
"Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in ?
File "/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.4/lib/python2.4/site.py", line 327, in __call__
import pydoc
File "/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.4//lib/python2.4/pydoc.py", line 57, in ?
from collections import deque
ImportError: cannot import name deque"
the dock says the new instance of python is still running, and I have to <ctrl>-c in the terminal to terminate that new instance (which also terminates
the original non-GUI instance of python; if instead of trying to quit from the menu bar, I go straight to the terminal and type <ctrl>-c, I can terminate the new python instance without getting the exception traceback, but the terminal instance of python still quits).
Now, as if this all weren't strange enough, here's the kicker: all this _only_ seems to happen if I try to get help on matplotlib members when I'm running python from within the MPL_examples directory - if I do python, import matplotlib, help(matplotlib.<module member>) in a terminal based in another directory, I get the expected behavior, i.e., a text printout of the member's doc! (One thing I haven't tried, 'cause it doesn't _seem_ like it should make a difference, is placing the MPL_examples directory someplace different and then repeating the experiment.)
Is this a "bug"? Should I file a bug report?
DG