4Suite is written mostly in Python: a mature, robust, efficient programming language well-suited to object-oriented programming, functional programming, and procedural tasks of any complexity. In the few cases where Python is not sufficiently speedy, certain 4Suite components are implemented in C. The C components are distributed for Windows as compiled DLLs, so you do not need to have a C compiler in order to install and use 4Suite. You do, however, need an appropriate version of Python on your system.

Specifically, Python 2.2.1 or higher is required for 4Suite. You can also have other versions of Python installed alongside the one you need for 4Suite, as long as when you use 4Suite's Python API, you be sure to load the modules with the interpreter that they were built for.

If you need to install Python, then download the appropriate Python installer .exe from python.org.

1. Double click on the downloaded file. A confirmation screen will appear to make sure that you do want to install Python. Click "next".

2. The next screen will be to pick the destination directory. Preferably, just use the default. You are free to install to any location you choose, but if you do install to a nonstandard location, keep in mind where it is, and adjust all paths in these instructions accordingly.

3. The component selection screen is where you decide what pieces of Python to install. Preferably, just leave them all selected. You may, however, trim them as space requires; the only one that is absolutely necessary is "Python interpreter and library".

4. Start Menu Group is where you name this installation in your start menu. Again, the default is preferable, but it really doesn't matter.

5. Lastly, a confirmation window will appear. If all looks correct press the "next" button to begin the installation.

6. If all goes well, you will get an "Installation Complete" screen. Click the finish button when you are done. Of course you will be prompted to reboot, but for now, press "Cancel"; you can reboot later.

1. Now you need to make it so that you can run the Python interpreter and the 4Suite tools from the command line. This requires changing the PATH environment variable.

   If you installed Python 2.3, add C:\Python23;C:\Python23\Scripts to the path. In any case, be sure that other versions of Python don't come first in the path. Also note that any changes you make won't affect command shell windows that are already open.

   • If on Windows 98 or Windows ME, you should modify your autoexec.bat script, which gets run automatically at boot time. Add set path=C:\Python23;C:\Python23\Scripts;%path% to the bottom of the file.

   • If on Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you should set the environment in the System Properties. Either right-click on your computer's icon on the desktop and pick "Properties", or navigate through the Start Menu to Control Panels and then to System. There are slight variations from version to version of Windows, but somewhere in the system properties window, perhaps on the "advanced" tab, there will be an "environment variables" button. Click the button so that you can modify the environment variables.

2. Now you may reboot your machine.

Test the installation

When the machine is back up, test that Python is working by opening a command/DOS shell window. Then type python to enter the Python interpreter shell.

C:\WINDOWS>python
Python 2.3.3 (#51, Dec 18 2003, 20:22:39) [MSC v.1200 32 bit (Intel)] on win32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>>

Slight differences in build info are to be expected, but if you get an error or don't get similar output, then your environment is probably incorrect.

Type ctrl-Z and press enter to get out of the Python interpreter.

4Suite is available for Windows download in two formats:

1. a standard application installer in executable form, and

2. a ZIP archive containing all the same files as the installer.

Preferably, just use the installer, because it automatically detects where Python is installed (via registry keys), and because afterward, 4Suite can be easily uninstalled via the Add/Remove Programs menu, just like any other application. Advanced users who cannot use the installer can use the ZIP file instead.

These instructions will walk through both installation processes.

Now you can perform a quick test to make sure everything is installed correctly. First, open up a command prompt. From any directory outside of the 4Suite source or installation directories, run the following (you enter 'python' and then the text to the right of the '>>>' prompts):

C:\WINDOWS>python
Python 2.3.3 (#51, Dec 18 2003, 20:22:39) [MSC v.1200 32 bit (Intel)] on win32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> from Ft.Xml import Domlette
>>> from Ft.Xml.Xslt import Processor
>>> print Processor
<module 'Ft.Xml.Xslt.Processor' from 'C:\Python23\lib\site-packages\Ft\Xml\Xslt\Processor.pyc'>
>>>

The imports and the print should complete without error. Report any problems to the 4Suite mailing list.

If all you wish to use in 4Suite are the basic command-line tools and Python libraries, then you are done with installation and can proceed to use them. To make sure things are working, try running a few of the command-line tools with the -h option to get usage information.

C:\>4xml -h
SNIP
C:\>4xslt -h
SNIP
C:\>4xpath -h
SNIP
C:\>4rdf -h
SNIP

If you want to use the XML/RDF repository and server features of 4Suite, then you will need to customize and install a configuration file, initialize a repository, and do some further tests. These topics are covered in the Quick Start documentation.

4Suite Project Page - Bug Reports, Feature Requests, Patches

4suite.org - Documentation, Downloads, News, CVS, Developer Resources

4Suite Users Mailing List - Peer & Developer Support

4Suite Announcement Mailing List - Infrequent Announcements about 4Suite

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