Using zc.buildout to run setup scripts
======================================
zc buildout has a convenience command for running setup scripts. Why?
There are two reasons. If a setup script doesn't import setuptools,
you can't use any setuptools-provided commands, like bdist_egg. When
buildout runs a setup script, it arranges to import setuptools before
running the script so setuptools-provided commands are available.
If you use a squeaky-clean Python to do your development, the setup
script that would import setuptools because setuptools isn't in the
path. Because buildout requires setuptools and knows where it has
installed a setuptools egg, it adds the setuptools egg to the Python
path before running the script. To run a setup script, use the
buildout setup command, passing the name of a script or a directory
containing a setup script and arguments to the script. Let's look at
an example:
>>> mkdir('test')
>>> cd('test')
>>> write('setup.py',
... '''
... from distutils.core import setup
... setup(name='sample')
... ''')
We've created a super simple (stupid) setup script. Note that it
doesn't import setuptools. Let's try running it to create an egg.
We'll use the buildout script from our sample buildout:
>>> print system(buildout+' setup'),
... # doctest: +NORMALIZE_WHITESPACE
Error: The setup command requires the path to a setup script or
directory containing a setup script, and its arguments.
Oops, we forgot to give the name of the setup script:
>>> print system(buildout+' setup setup.py bdist_egg'),
... # doctest: +ELLIPSIS
Running setup script 'setup.py'.
...
>>> ls('dist')
- sample-0.0.0-py2.5.egg
Note that we can specify a directory name. This is often shorter and
preferred by the lazy :)
>>> print system(buildout+' setup . bdist_egg'), # doctest: +ELLIPSIS
Running setup script './setup.py'.
...