Fink before you leap - PIL Installation howto for a Mac

PIL (Python Imaging Library) habit is difficult to let go. And well a Mac is a Mac. Follow these steps to get PIL up and running on your Mac.

1. Install fink. fink = an apt-get like (ditto?) package manager for your Mac. apt-get also gets installed along with it. Just google for fink and you will find its dmg image on sourceforge. Installation is simple point and click.
   
   
2. Configure fink by issuing the command
   

   fink configure

   It will ask you couple of easy questions. Bear with the thing. If you use a proxy to connect to the internet its necessary to specify it during this configuration procedure. *IMPORTANT*: Write fully qualified name of the proxy (with the protocol). For e.g.

   http://proxy.ncbs.res.in

   I had dropped the protocol during my initial configuration and fink failed to connect to internet. I wish fink architects had arranged so that the proxy config defaults to http protocol. Newayz. Now you know!
   
   
   
3. Then issue this command
   

   apt-get install pil-py23

   This command will install all the necessary dependencies along with PIL. May take a while depending on your net connection speed.
   
   
4. Test your installation by
   

   python2.3
   import Image
   

   
   P.S.: Looks like PIL is currently available only for python2.3. You might wanna consider symlinking python2.3==>python in your /usr/bin. I am undecided for my Mac mini shipped with a python2.5. And I hate putting that extra "2.3" to launch the interpreter. What life !
   
   P.P.S: Thank me. And then thank Raj who egged me on to blog this.