**Course Title:** Modern Python Programming: Best Practices and Trends **Section Title:** Packaging, Version Control, and Deployment **Topic:** Introduction to Python packaging: `setuptools` and `wheel` ### Overview In this topic, we'll delve into the world of Python packaging, focusing on the popular tools `setuptools` and `wheel`. You'll learn how to create, distribute, and manage Python packages efficiently, ensuring that your projects are well-organized and easily installable. ### What is a Python Package? A Python package is a directory containing Python modules and other resources, such as documentation, tests, and data files. Packages are the primary way to distribute Python projects, making it easy to share and reuse code. ### Introducing `setuptools` `setuptools` is a collection of tools for building, distributing, and installing Python packages. It provides a lot of functionality, including: * **Package metadata management**: `setuptools` helps you manage package metadata, such as the package name, version, author, and description. * **Project structure creation**: `setuptools` can create the basic directory structure for your package, including the `src/` directory and the `setup.py` file. * **Dependency management**: `setuptools` allows you to specify dependencies for your package, which are automatically installed when the package is installed. Here's an example `setup.py` file that demonstrates some of the basic features of `setuptools`: ```python import setuptools setuptools.setup( name='my_package', version='1.0.0', author='Your Name', author_email='your_email@example.com', description='A brief description of my package', packages=setuptools.find_packages(), install_requires=['numpy', 'pandas'], ) ``` In this example, we're defining a package called `my_package` with version `1.0.0`. We're also specifying the package author and description, as well as the dependencies `numpy` and `pandas`. ### Introducing `wheel` `wheel` is a package format that provides a more efficient way to distribute Python packages than the traditional `egg` format. `wheel` files are essentially zip files containing the package contents, along with metadata and dependencies. To create a `wheel` package using `setuptools`, you can run the following command: ```bash python setup.py bdist_wheel ``` This will create a `wheel` file in the `dist/` directory, which can be uploaded to a package repository like PyPI or installed locally using `pip`. ### Key Concepts Here are some key concepts to keep in mind when working with `setuptools` and `wheel`: * **Package structure**: A well-structured package should have a clear directory layout, with separate directories for the package code, tests, documentation, and other resources. * **Dependency management**: Use `setuptools` to manage dependencies for your package, and make sure to specify the minimum required versions of any dependencies. * **Metadata**: Use the `setup.py` file to manage metadata for your package, including the package name, version, author, and description. ### Practical Takeaways Here are some practical takeaways from this topic: * Use `setuptools` to create and manage your Python package. * Use `wheel` to distribute your package in a more efficient format. * Create a well-structured package directory layout to keep your code and resources organized. * Manage dependencies using `setuptools` and specify minimum required versions. ### Further Reading For more information on `setuptools` and `wheel`, check out the following resources: * [setuptools documentation](https://setuptools.pypa.io/en/latest/) * [wheel documentation](https://wheel.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) * [Python Packaging Guide](https://packaging.python.org/tutorials/packaging-projects/) ### Questions or Feedback? If you have any questions or feedback on this topic, feel free to leave a comment below. In the next topic, we'll explore how to create and publish Python packages on PyPI. **Next Topic:** Creating and publishing Python packages (PyPI)