Virtualenv vs Virtual-Python

If you harbor multiple versions of Python, as is usually a good idea, you can go at least two routes:

1. Virtualenv
2. Virtual-Python

Both organize your all-important PYTHONPATH environment variable and keep your preferred python executable at the ready. This in turn makes module add-ons, test projects and installations easy.

On that note, Easy_install recommends virtual-python.py as a quick way to keep organized. It is indeed easy to set up and concise as well.

Another option, the one I use incidentally, is virtualenv. Once installed, all you need to do to switch active versions is activate it via the command line.

In a newly created virtualenv there will be a bin/activate shell script, or a Scripts/activate.bat batch file on Windows.

On Posix systems you can do:

$ source bin/activate

Even better than that is Doug Hellmann's virtualenvwrapper which, as he describes, allows you to set a working python environment with a single command. It's easy to set up as well, just a couple of lines into your bash script and bombs away, your virtualenv is wrapped.

With these options, you can initiate new projects and test new python libraries without any conflicts or misgivings. Try it out sometime. What have you got to lose?