View source for Python setuptools

The most common way to distribute Python modules is using [https://pypi.python.org/pypi '''PyPI''', the Python Package Index] (formerly known as the Cheese shop).

The tool to download and install packages is '''[http://www.pip-installer.org/ pip]'''. Predecessors like [http://peak.telecommunity.com/DevCenter/EasyInstall EasyInstall] are [https://python-packaging-user-guide.readthedocs.org/en/latest/current.html no longer recommended], with only a few exceptions.

There are tool to build and upload packages is or '''[https://pythonhosted.org/setuptools/ setuptools]'''. Make sure to use version 0.7 or later.

There are a few alternatives to setuptools: '''[http://docs.python.org/3/distutils/ distutils]''' is a tool in the standard library with limited functionality. The downside of both distutils and setuptools is that they use a script rather than a file format to store metadata, and force the developer an end-user to use the same tool to build and install the software. [https://python-packaging-user-guide.readthedocs.org/en/latest/future.html distutils2] (the module will be named `package`) is an attempt to move to a modern packaging system for Python, but has not been included as of Python 3.4.

== Release Steps ==

{{Unfinished}}

Credits: These steps are taken from the sphinxcontrib-aafig package.

In order to make a PyPi release, do the following steps:

# Make sure the repository is up-to date.
# Ensure the version is incremented:
#* ``setup.py``  must be updated
#* ``doc/config.py``  must be updated
#* ``CHANGES.txt``  must contain a summary of the changes
# Make sure all changes are committed, including the version number changes.
# Tag the sources with ``hg tag -m 'Tag aafig-X.Y' mymodule-X.Y``.
# Don't forget to ``hg push`` or git push
# Temporarily modify the ``setup.cfg`` file to comment out the variables ``tag_build = dev`` and ``tag_date = true`` (do **not** commit this change).
# Register and upload the new release ``python setup.py register sdist upload``.
# Generate the documentation with ``make -C doc zip``.
# Upload the new documentation (``doc/_build/sphinxcontrib-aafig-doc.zip``) to PyPi: http://pypi.python.org/pypi?%3Aaction=pkg_edit&name=mypackage