Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Think Python VS MacPorts

Compare Think Python VS MacPorts and see what are their differences

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Think Python logo Think Python

Learning Resources

MacPorts logo MacPorts

The MacPorts Project is an open-source community initiative to design an easy-to-use system for compiling, installing, and upgrading either command-line, X11 or Aqua based open-source software on the Mac OS X operating system.
  • Think Python Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-24
  • MacPorts Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-29

Think Python features and specs

  • Accessible for Beginners
    Think Python is written in a clear and approachable style, making it suitable for beginners with no prior programming experience. The author takes care to explain concepts thoroughly, making it easy to follow.
  • Practical Examples
    The book is filled with practical examples that demonstrate how to use Python for various applications. This approach helps readers understand real-world usage of the language.
  • Free Availability
    Think Python is openly accessible in digital format for free, making it easy for anyone to read without financial barriers, supporting open education.
  • Emphasis on Problem Solving
    The book places strong emphasis on teaching readers how to think like programmers, encouraging problem-solving and logical thinking skills.

Possible disadvantages of Think Python

  • Limited Depth
    While suitable for beginners, the book doesn’t delve deeply into advanced features of Python, which might leave learners needing additional resources for more complex topics.
  • Pacing
    Some readers might find the pacing of the book too slow, particularly if they have some prior programming experience, as it aims to accommodate complete beginners.
  • Lack of Exercises
    There are fewer exercises compared to some other programming books, potentially providing less practice for readers to reinforce their learning.
  • Outdated Information
    Depending on the edition, some information may be outdated due to the fast-evolving nature of programming languages. Readers may need to verify with more recent sources.

MacPorts features and specs

  • Wide Range of Software
    MacPorts provides access to a large number of open-source software packages, allowing users to easily install and manage them on macOS.
  • Ease of Use
    With a simple command-line interface, MacPorts is easy to use for installing, updating, and managing software packages.
  • Dependency Management
    Automatically handles software dependencies, ensuring that all required packages are installed and properly configured.
  • Customizability
    Offers options to tailor the installation of packages to meet specific user needs, such as enabling or disabling specific variants.
  • Isolated Environment
    Installs packages in a separate directory under /opt/local, preventing conflicts with macOS-provided software and keeping the system environment clean.

Possible disadvantages of MacPorts

  • Disk Space Usage
    MacPorts can consume a significant amount of disk space, as it builds software from source and maintains its own directory tree.
  • Performance Overheads
    Building packages from source can be time-consuming, particularly for large or complex software, which may lead to longer installation times.
  • Limited GUI Options
    Primarily a command-line tool, MacPorts offers limited graphical interfaces for users who prefer GUI-based package management.
  • Learning Curve
    While generally straightforward, MacPorts requires some familiarity with command-line operations and package management concepts.
  • Potential Redundancies
    For users who also use Homebrew or other package managers, there might be overlap in functionality, leading to redundancy and potential conflicts.

Think Python videos

Thoughts on Think Python From a Beginner Programmer

More videos:

MacPorts videos

Linux Tools for your Mac. Package Management. HomeBrew, MacPorts, Fink

More videos:

  • Review - Install and Testing MacPorts on an M1 Mac
  • Review - Installing MacPorts on macOS Catalina

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Think Python and MacPorts)
Online Learning
100 100%
0% 0
Front End Package Manager
Development
100 100%
0% 0
Package Manager
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Think Python should be more popular than MacPorts. It has been mentiond 9 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Think Python mentions (9)

  • C949 help and Jay Wengrow's Guide to Data Structures
    This course actually starts with an introduction to Python. Since you don't have access yet, you can give Think Python a whirl - https://greenteapress.com/wp/think-python/ and for a more interactive experience, I really enjoyed this one - https://scrimba.com/learn/python. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Best place to learn and practice python?
    Start with Think Python or learn x in y..both are free resources and good for basic understanding and practise. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Good places to start learning python?
    This free book taught me Python many years ago https://greenteapress.com/wp/think-python/. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Which books should I read to learn computer science with python language?
    In terms of learning the basics of Python programming, you can get the first edition of Think Python in PDF form for free. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Observations and thoughts from a long time crypto nerd
    Computer Science — For understanding software development. As for a programming language to learn, I recommend Python or Javascript. Try Crash Course's Computer Science videos, the free Think Python book, and/or Part 1 of The Modern JavaScript Tutorial. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

MacPorts mentions (5)

  • Need help with running OpenBSD on VirtualBox
    Brew & macports have libvirt & virt-manager that are used to manage qemu via GUI. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Brew Is a Bad Neighbor
    Or instead of all this, try MacPorts[0], which in my experience has 99% of what you need. The biggest drawbacks are less support from quite niche packages (the ones that sets up its own homebrew tap), and a bit slower updates. But then I found it bearable much more than homebrew’s downsides. [0]: https://macports.org. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • How to prevent WireGuard from starting up (menubar) on MacOS?
    You can install wireguard-go and wireguard-tools (or boringtun, which is Cloudflare's userspace implementation) using either MacPorts or Brew. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Newbie Problem with MacOS Terminal Stuff
    That being said, I'm going to assume that you're working on MacO. Flatpaks aren't going to be an option, that's only going to work if you're using Linux (like Fedora, Ubuntu, Gentoo, Arch, Mint, and so on). If you need to install HandBrake, you may want to consider using macports.org, or brew.sh, these are projects that provide additional libraries and packages for MacOS, this way you can install additional... Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Top 10 trending github repos of the week🚽.
    On macOS you can also install the latest release with MacPorts:. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Think Python and MacPorts, you can also consider the following products

The New Boston video series - Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

Homebrew - The missing package manager for macOS

Google's Python Class - Assorted educational materials provided by Google.

pkgsrc - pkgsrc is a framework for building over 17,000 open source software packages.

A Byte of Python - A Byte of Python is a Python programming tutorial and learning book that teaches you how to program with the Python programming language.

Homebrew Cask - Install with ease. Your software is just one command away from being ready and raring to go. Forget all about babysitting the install process step by step, from website to cleanup. ls /usr/local/Caskroom google-chrome .