How to convert python .py file into an executable file for use cross platform?
I've been searching through SO for a while now trying to come up with an answer to this but due to my inexperience with programming I don't understand much of the documentation, nor am I confident enough to experiment too much.
Would anyone be able to describe in slightly simpler terms how I would use programs like Py2exe, PyInstaller, cx_freeze etc.? I just want a way for others (mainly friends) to be able to run my (simple, text only) program without having to download python themselves. If there is an easier way to do this I'd appreciate knowing that too.
Running Vista 32bit, python 2.7
Answer
There are two distinct ways of freezing python scripts to create executables:
- Packing the interpreter and *.pyc files into one exe file-container. Such an approach is used by tools like PyInstaller, Py2exe, cx_freeze.
- Creating native code from Python source, usually using a middle step of converting Python-source to C or C++ code. This is done by such tools as Shed-skin and Nuitka. The problem of this aproach is that such tools do not always support all the functionality of Python (e.g. they can have some typing limitations and so on)
The point where you have to start is reading the documentation. Such tools are not just push-and-run style tools, they usually have some configuration that must be implemented (that's the problem of possibly all build systems, and as the project grows, the configuration and number of hooks also grows).
You can start with Py2exe tutorial and 'hello-world' to get acquainted with that how compilation is done. As far as I know it's a simplest way to get your goal.
And the last thing, you can't create cross-platform native executables as their file formats are strongly operating system and hardware dependent.