.. _api-reference:

API Reference

:mod:`distutils.core` --- Core Distutils functionality

.. module:: distutils.core :synopsis: The core Distutils functionality

The :mod:distutils.core module is the only module that needs to be installed to use the Distutils. It provides the :func:setup (which is called from the setup script). Indirectly provides the :class:distutils.dist.Distribution and :class:distutils.cmd.Command class.

.. function:: setup(arguments)

The basic do-everything function that does most everything you could ever ask for from a Distutils method.

The setup function takes a large number of arguments. These are laid out in the following table.

.. tabularcolumns:: |l|L|L|

.. function:: run_setup(script_name[, script_args=None, stop_after='run'])

Run a setup script in a somewhat controlled environment, and return the :class:distutils.dist.Distribution instance that drives things. This is useful if you need to find out the distribution meta-data (passed as keyword args from script to :func:setup), or the contents of the config files or command-line.

script_name is a file that will be read and run with :func:exec. sys.argv[0] will be replaced with script for the duration of the call. script_args is a list of strings; if supplied, sys.argv[1:] will be replaced by script_args for the duration of the call.

stop_after tells :func:setup when to stop processing; possible values:

.. tabularcolumns:: |l|L|

In addition, the :mod:distutils.core module exposed a number of classes that live elsewhere.

:class:~distutils.extension.Extension from :mod:distutils.extension
:class:~distutils.cmd.Command from :mod:distutils.cmd
:class:~distutils.dist.Distribution from :mod:distutils.dist

A short description of each of these follows, but see the relevant module for the full reference.

.. class:: Extension

The Extension class describes a single C or C++ extension module in a setup script. It accepts the following keyword arguments in its constructor:

.. tabularcolumns:: |l|L|l|

.. class:: Distribution

A :class:Distribution describes how to build, install and package up a Python software package.

See the :func:setup function for a list of keyword arguments accepted by the Distribution constructor. :func:setup creates a Distribution instance.

.. versionchanged:: 3.7 :class:~distutils.core.Distribution now warns if classifiers, keywords and platforms fields are not specified as a list or a string.

.. class:: Command

A :class:Command class (or rather, an instance of one of its subclasses) implement a single distutils command.

:mod:`distutils.ccompiler` --- CCompiler base class

.. module:: distutils.ccompiler :synopsis: Abstract CCompiler class

This module provides the abstract base class for the :class:CCompiler classes. A :class:CCompiler instance can be used for all the compile and link steps needed to build a single project. Methods are provided to set options for the compiler --- macro definitions, include directories, link path, libraries and the like.

This module provides the following functions.

.. function:: gen_lib_options(compiler, library_dirs, runtime_library_dirs, libraries)

Generate linker options for searching library directories and linking with specific libraries. libraries and library_dirs are, respectively, lists of library names (not filenames!) and search directories. Returns a list of command-line options suitable for use with some compiler (depending on the two format strings passed in).

.. function:: gen_preprocess_options(macros, include_dirs)

Generate C pre-processor options (:option:!-D, :option:!-U, :option:!-I) as used by at least two types of compilers: the typical Unix compiler and Visual C++. macros is the usual thing, a list of 1- or 2-tuples, where (name,) means undefine (:option:!-U) macro name, and (name, value) means define (:option:!-D) macro name to value. include_dirs is just a list of directory names to be added to the header file search path (:option:!-I). Returns a list of command-line options suitable for either Unix compilers or Visual C++.

.. function:: get_default_compiler(osname, platform)

Determine the default compiler to use for the given platform.

osname should be one of the standard Python OS names (i.e. the ones returned by os.name) and platform the common value returned by sys.platform for the platform in question.

The default values are os.name and sys.platform in case the parameters are not given.

.. function:: new_compiler(plat=None, compiler=None, verbose=0, dry_run=0, force=0)

Factory function to generate an instance of some CCompiler subclass for the supplied platform/compiler combination. plat defaults to os.name (eg. 'posix', 'nt'), and compiler defaults to the default compiler for that platform. Currently only 'posix' and 'nt' are supported, and the default compilers are "traditional Unix interface" (:class:UnixCCompiler class) and Visual C++ (:class:MSVCCompiler class). Note that it's perfectly possible to ask for a Unix compiler object under Windows, and a Microsoft compiler object under Unix---if you supply a value for compiler, plat is ignored.

.. % Is the posix/nt only thing still true? Mac OS X seems to work, and .. % returns a UnixCCompiler instance. How to document this... hmm.

.. function:: show_compilers()

Print list of available compilers (used by the :option:!--help-compiler options to :command:build, :command:build_ext, :command:build_clib).

.. class:: CCompiler([verbose=0, dry_run=0, force=0])

The abstract base class :class:CCompiler defines the interface that must be implemented by real compiler classes. The class also has some utility methods used by several compiler classes.

The basic idea behind a compiler abstraction class is that each instance can be used for all the compile/link steps in building a single project. Thus, attributes common to all of those compile and link steps --- include directories, macros to define, libraries to link against, etc. --- are attributes of the compiler instance. To allow for variability in how individual files are treated, most of those attributes may be varied on a per-compilation or per-link basis.

The constructor for each subclass creates an instance of the Compiler object. Flags are verbose (show verbose output), dry_run (don't actually execute the steps) and force (rebuild everything, regardless of dependencies). All of these flags default to 0 (off). Note that you probably don't want to instantiate :class:CCompiler or one of its subclasses directly - use the :func:distutils.CCompiler.new_compiler factory function instead.

The following methods allow you to manually alter compiler options for the instance of the Compiler class.

.. method:: CCompiler.add_include_dir(dir)

  Add *dir* to the list of directories that will be searched for header files.
  The compiler is instructed to search directories in the order in which they are
  supplied by successive calls to :meth:`add_include_dir`.

.. method:: CCompiler.set_include_dirs(dirs)

  Set the list of directories that will be searched to *dirs* (a list of strings).
  Overrides any preceding calls to :meth:`add_include_dir`; subsequent calls to
  :meth:`add_include_dir` add to the list passed to :meth:`set_include_dirs`.
  This does not affect any list of standard include directories that the compiler
  may search by default.

.. method:: CCompiler.add_library(libname)

  Add *libname* to the list of libraries that will be included in all links driven
  by this compiler object.  Note that *libname* should \*not\* be the name of a
  file containing a library, but the name of the library itself: the actual
  filename will be inferred by the linker, the compiler, or the compiler class
  (depending on the platform).

  The linker will be instructed to link against libraries in the order they were
  supplied to :meth:`add_library` and/or :meth:`set_libraries`.  It is perfectly
  valid to duplicate library names; the linker will be instructed to link against
  libraries as many times as they are mentioned.

.. method:: CCompiler.set_libraries(libnames)

  Set the list of libraries to be included in all links driven by this compiler
  object to *libnames* (a list of strings).  This does not affect any standard
  system libraries that the linker may include by default.

.. method:: CCompiler.add_library_dir(dir)

  Add *dir* to the list of directories that will be searched for libraries
  specified to :meth:`add_library` and :meth:`set_libraries`.  The linker will be
  instructed to search for libraries in the order they are supplied to
  :meth:`add_library_dir` and/or :meth:`set_library_dirs`.

.. method:: CCompiler.set_library_dirs(dirs)

  Set the list of library search directories to *dirs* (a list of strings).  This
  does not affect any standard library search path that the linker may search by
  default.

.. method:: CCompiler.add_runtime_library_dir(dir)

  Add *dir* to the list of directories that will be searched for shared libraries
  at runtime.

.. method:: CCompiler.set_runtime_library_dirs(dirs)

  Set the list of directories to search for shared libraries at runtime to *dirs*
  (a list of strings).  This does not affect any standard search path that the
  runtime linker may search by default.

.. method:: CCompiler.define_macro(name[, value=None])

  Define a preprocessor macro for all compilations driven by this compiler object.
  The optional parameter *value* should be a string; if it is not supplied, then
  the macro will be defined without an explicit value and the exact outcome
  depends on the compiler used.

  .. XXX true? does ANSI say anything about this?

.. method:: CCompiler.undefine_macro(name)

  Undefine a preprocessor macro for all compilations driven by this compiler
  object.  If the same macro is defined by :meth:`define_macro` and
  undefined by :meth:`undefine_macro` the last call takes precedence
  (including multiple redefinitions or undefinitions).  If the macro is
  redefined/undefined on a per-compilation basis (ie. in the call to
  :meth:`compile`), then that takes precedence.

.. method:: CCompiler.add_link_object(object)

  Add *object* to the list of object files (or analogues, such as explicitly named
  library files or the output of "resource compilers") to be included in every
  link driven by this compiler object.

.. method:: CCompiler.set_link_objects(objects)

  Set the list of object files (or analogues) to be included in every link to
  *objects*.  This does not affect any standard object files that the linker may
  include by default (such as system libraries).

The following methods implement methods for autodetection of compiler options, providing some functionality similar to GNU :program:autoconf.

.. method:: CCompiler.detect_language(sources)

  Detect the language of a given file, or list of files. Uses the  instance
  attributes :attr:`language_map` (a dictionary), and  :attr:`language_order` (a
  list) to do the job.

.. method:: CCompiler.find_library_file(dirs, lib[, debug=0])

  Search the specified list of directories for a static or shared library file
  *lib* and return the full path to that file.  If *debug* is true, look for a
  debugging version (if that makes sense on the current platform).  Return
  ``None`` if *lib* wasn't found in any of the specified directories.

.. method:: CCompiler.has_function(funcname [, includes=None, include_dirs=None, libraries=None, library_dirs=None])

  Return a boolean indicating whether *funcname* is supported on the current
  platform.  The optional arguments can be used to augment the compilation
  environment by providing additional include files and paths and libraries and
  paths.

.. method:: CCompiler.library_dir_option(dir)

  Return the compiler option to add *dir* to the list of directories searched for
  libraries.

.. method:: CCompiler.library_option(lib)

  Return the compiler option to add *lib* to the list of libraries linked into the
  shared library or executable.

.. method:: CCompiler.runtime_library_dir_option(dir)

  Return the compiler option to add *dir* to the list of directories searched for
  runtime libraries.

.. method:: CCompiler.set_executables(**args)

  Define the executables (and options for them) that will be run to perform the
  various stages of compilation.  The exact set of executables that may be
  specified here depends on the compiler class (via the 'executables' class
  attribute), but most will have:

  +--------------+------------------------------------------+
  | attribute    | description                              |
  +==============+==========================================+
  | *compiler*   | the C/C++ compiler                       |
  +--------------+------------------------------------------+
  | *linker_so*  | linker used to create shared objects and |
  |              | libraries                                |
  +--------------+------------------------------------------+
  | *linker_exe* | linker used to create binary executables |
  +--------------+------------------------------------------+
  | *archiver*   | static library creator                   |
  +--------------+------------------------------------------+

  On platforms with a command-line (Unix, DOS/Windows), each of these is a string
  that will be split into executable name and (optional) list of arguments.
  (Splitting the string is done similarly to how Unix shells operate: words are
  delimited by spaces, but quotes and backslashes can override this.  See
  :func:`distutils.util.split_quoted`.)

The following methods invoke stages in the build process.

.. method:: CCompiler.compile(sources[, output_dir=None, macros=None, include_dirs=None, debug=0, extra_preargs=None, extra_postargs=None, depends=None])

  Compile one or more source files. Generates object files (e.g.  transforms a
  :file:`.c` file to a :file:`.o` file.)

  *sources* must be a list of filenames, most likely C/C++ files, but in reality
  anything that can be handled by a particular compiler and compiler class (eg.
  :class:`MSVCCompiler` can handle resource files in *sources*).  Return a list of
  object filenames, one per source filename in *sources*.  Depending on the
  implementation, not all source files will necessarily be compiled, but all
  corresponding object filenames will be returned.

  If *output_dir* is given, object files will be put under it, while retaining
  their original path component.  That is, :file:`foo/bar.c` normally compiles to
  :file:`foo/bar.o` (for a Unix implementation); if *output_dir* is *build*, then
  it would compile to :file:`build/foo/bar.o`.

  *macros*, if given, must be a list of macro definitions.  A macro definition is
  either a ``(name, value)`` 2-tuple or a ``(name,)`` 1-tuple. The former defines
  a macro; if the value is ``None``, the macro is defined without an explicit
  value.  The 1-tuple case undefines a macro.  Later
  definitions/redefinitions/undefinitions take precedence.

  *include_dirs*, if given, must be a list of strings, the directories to add to
  the default include file search path for this compilation only.

  *debug* is a boolean; if true, the compiler will be instructed to output debug
  symbols in (or alongside) the object file(s).

  *extra_preargs* and *extra_postargs* are implementation-dependent. On platforms
  that have the notion of a command-line (e.g. Unix, DOS/Windows), they are most
  likely lists of strings: extra command-line arguments to prepend/append to the
  compiler command line.  On other platforms, consult the implementation class
  documentation.  In any event, they are intended as an escape hatch for those
  occasions when the abstract compiler framework doesn't cut the mustard.

  *depends*, if given, is a list of filenames that all targets depend on.  If a
  source file is older than any file in depends, then the source file will be
  recompiled.  This supports dependency tracking, but only at a coarse
  granularity.

  Raises :exc:`CompileError` on failure.

.. method:: CCompiler.create_static_lib(objects, output_libname[, output_dir=None, debug=0, target_lang=None])

  Link a bunch of stuff together to create a static library file. The "bunch of
  stuff" consists of the list of object files supplied as *objects*, the extra
  object files supplied to :meth:`add_link_object` and/or
  :meth:`set_link_objects`, the libraries supplied to :meth:`add_library` and/or
  :meth:`set_libraries`, and the libraries supplied as *libraries* (if any).

  *output_libname* should be a library name, not a filename; the filename will be
  inferred from the library name.  *output_dir* is the directory where the library
  file will be put.

  .. XXX defaults to what?

  *debug* is a boolean; if true, debugging information will be included in the
  library (note that on most platforms, it is the compile step where this matters:
  the *debug* flag is included here just for consistency).

  *target_lang* is the target language for which the given objects are being
  compiled. This allows specific linkage time treatment of certain languages.

  Raises :exc:`LibError` on failure.

.. method:: CCompiler.link(target_desc, objects, output_filename[, output_dir=None, libraries=None, library_dirs=None, runtime_library_dirs=None, export_symbols=None, debug=0, extra_preargs=None, extra_postargs=None, build_temp=None, target_lang=None])

  Link a bunch of stuff together to create an executable or shared library file.

  The "bunch of stuff" consists of the list of object files supplied as *objects*.
  *output_filename* should be a filename.  If *output_dir* is supplied,
  *output_filename* is relative to it (i.e. *output_filename* can provide
  directory components if needed).

  *libraries* is a list of libraries to link against.  These are library names,
  not filenames, since they're translated into filenames in a platform-specific
  way (eg. *foo* becomes :file:`libfoo.a` on Unix and :file:`foo.lib` on
  DOS/Windows).  However, they can include a directory component, which means the
  linker will look in that specific directory rather than searching all the normal
  locations.

  *library_dirs*, if supplied, should be a list of directories to search for
  libraries that were specified as bare library names (ie. no directory
  component).  These are on top of the system default and those supplied to
  :meth:`add_library_dir` and/or :meth:`set_library_dirs`.  *runtime_library_dirs*
  is a list of directories that will be embedded into the shared library and used
  to search for other shared libraries that \*it\* depends on at run-time.  (This
  may only be relevant on Unix.)

  *export_symbols* is a list of symbols that the shared library will export.
  (This appears to be relevant only on Windows.)

  *debug* is as for :meth:`compile` and :meth:`create_static_lib`,  with the
  slight distinction that it actually matters on most platforms (as opposed to
  :meth:`create_static_lib`, which includes a *debug* flag mostly for form's
  sake).

  *extra_preargs* and *extra_postargs* are as for :meth:`compile`  (except of
  course that they supply command-line arguments for the particular linker being
  used).

  *target_lang* is the target language for which the given objects are being
  compiled. This allows specific linkage time treatment of certain languages.

  Raises :exc:`LinkError` on failure.

.. method:: CCompiler.link_executable(objects, output_progname[, output_dir=None, libraries=None, library_dirs=None, runtime_library_dirs=None, debug=0, extra_preargs=None, extra_postargs=None, target_lang=None])

  Link an executable.  *output_progname* is the name of the file executable, while
  *objects* are a list of object filenames to link in. Other arguments  are as for
  the :meth:`link` method.

.. method:: CCompiler.link_shared_lib(objects, output_libname[, output_dir=None, libraries=None, library_dirs=None, runtime_library_dirs=None, export_symbols=None, debug=0, extra_preargs=None, extra_postargs=None, build_temp=None, target_lang=None])

  Link a shared library. *output_libname* is the name of the output  library,
  while *objects* is a list of object filenames to link in.  Other arguments are
  as for the :meth:`link` method.

.. method:: CCompiler.link_shared_object(objects, output_filename[, output_dir=None, libraries=None, library_dirs=None, runtime_library_dirs=None, export_symbols=None, debug=0, extra_preargs=None, extra_postargs=None, build_temp=None, target_lang=None])

  Link a shared object. *output_filename* is the name of the shared object that
  will be created, while *objects* is a list of object filenames  to link in.
  Other arguments are as for the :meth:`link` method.

.. method:: CCompiler.preprocess(source[, output_file=None, macros=None, include_dirs=None, extra_preargs=None, extra_postargs=None])

  Preprocess a single C/C++ source file, named in *source*. Output will be written
  to file named *output_file*, or *stdout* if *output_file* not supplied.
  *macros* is a list of macro definitions as for :meth:`compile`, which will
  augment the macros set with :meth:`define_macro` and :meth:`undefine_macro`.
  *include_dirs* is a list of directory names that will be added to the  default
  list, in the same way as :meth:`add_include_dir`.

  Raises :exc:`PreprocessError` on failure.

The following utility methods are defined by the :class:CCompiler class, for use by the various concrete subclasses.

.. method:: CCompiler.executable_filename(basename[, strip_dir=0, output_dir=''])

  Returns the filename of the executable for the given *basename*.  Typically for
  non-Windows platforms this is the same as the basename,  while Windows will get
  a :file:`.exe` added.

.. method:: CCompiler.library_filename(libname[, lib_type='static', strip_dir=0, output_dir=''])

  Returns the filename for the given library name on the current platform. On Unix
  a library with *lib_type* of ``'static'`` will typically  be of the form
  :file:`liblibname.a`, while a *lib_type* of ``'dynamic'``  will be of the form
  :file:`liblibname.so`.

.. method:: CCompiler.object_filenames(source_filenames[, strip_dir=0, output_dir=''])

  Returns the name of the object files for the given source files.
  *source_filenames* should be a list of filenames.

.. method:: CCompiler.shared_object_filename(basename[, strip_dir=0, output_dir=''])

  Returns the name of a shared object file for the given file name *basename*.

.. method:: CCompiler.execute(func, args[, msg=None, level=1])

  Invokes :func:`distutils.util.execute`. This method invokes a  Python function
  *func* with the given arguments *args*, after  logging and taking into account
  the *dry_run* flag.

.. method:: CCompiler.spawn(cmd)

  Invokes :func:`distutils.util.spawn`. This invokes an external  process to run
  the given command.

.. method:: CCompiler.mkpath(name[, mode=511])

  Invokes :func:`distutils.dir_util.mkpath`. This creates a directory  and any
  missing ancestor directories.

.. method:: CCompiler.move_file(src, dst)

  Invokes :meth:`distutils.file_util.move_file`. Renames *src* to  *dst*.

.. method:: CCompiler.announce(msg[, level=1])

  Write a message using :func:`distutils.log.debug`.

.. method:: CCompiler.warn(msg)

  Write a warning message *msg* to standard error.

.. method:: CCompiler.debug_print(msg)

  If the *debug* flag is set on this :class:`CCompiler` instance, print  *msg* to
  standard output, otherwise do nothing.

.. % \subsection{Compiler-specific modules} .. % .. % The following modules implement concrete subclasses of the abstract .. % \class{CCompiler} class. They should not be instantiated directly, but should .. % be created using \function{distutils.ccompiler.new_compiler()} factory .. % function.

:mod:`distutils.unixccompiler` --- Unix C Compiler

.. module:: distutils.unixccompiler :synopsis: UNIX C Compiler

This module provides the :class:UnixCCompiler class, a subclass of :class:CCompiler that handles the typical Unix-style command-line C compiler:

macros defined with :option:!-Dname[=value]
macros undefined with :option:!-Uname
include search directories specified with :option:!-Idir
libraries specified with :option:!-llib
library search directories specified with :option:!-Ldir
compile handled by :program:cc (or similar) executable with :option:!-c option: compiles :file:.c to :file:.o
link static library handled by :program:ar command (possibly with :program:ranlib)
link shared library handled by :program:cc :option:!-shared

:mod:`distutils.msvccompiler` --- Microsoft Compiler

.. module:: distutils.msvccompiler :synopsis: Microsoft Compiler

.. XXX: This is waaaaay out of date!

This module provides :class:MSVCCompiler, an implementation of the abstract :class:CCompiler class for Microsoft Visual Studio. Typically, extension modules need to be compiled with the same compiler that was used to compile Python. For Python 2.3 and earlier, the compiler was Visual Studio 6. For Python 2.4 and 2.5, the compiler is Visual Studio .NET 2003.

:class:MSVCCompiler will normally choose the right compiler, linker etc. on its own. To override this choice, the environment variables DISTUTILS_USE_SDK and MSSdk must be both set. MSSdk indicates that the current environment has been setup by the SDK's SetEnv.Cmd script, or that the environment variables had been registered when the SDK was installed; DISTUTILS_USE_SDK indicates that the distutils user has made an explicit choice to override the compiler selection by :class:MSVCCompiler.

:mod:`distutils.bcppcompiler` --- Borland Compiler

.. module:: distutils.bcppcompiler

This module provides :class:BorlandCCompiler, a subclass of the abstract :class:CCompiler class for the Borland C++ compiler.

:mod:`distutils.cygwincompiler` --- Cygwin Compiler

.. module:: distutils.cygwinccompiler

This module provides the :class:CygwinCCompiler class, a subclass of :class:UnixCCompiler that handles the Cygwin port of the GNU C compiler to Windows. It also contains the Mingw32CCompiler class which handles the mingw32 port of GCC (same as cygwin in no-cygwin mode).

:mod:`distutils.archive_util` --- Archiving utilities

.. module:: distutils.archive_util :synopsis: Utility functions for creating archive files (tarballs, zip files, ...)

This module provides a few functions for creating archive files, such as tarballs or zipfiles.

.. function:: make_archive(base_name, format[, root_dir=None, base_dir=None, verbose=0, dry_run=0])

Create an archive file (eg. zip or tar). base_name is the name of the file to create, minus any format-specific extension; format is the archive format: one of zip, tar, gztar, bztar, xztar, or ztar. root_dir is a directory that will be the root directory of the archive; ie. we typically chdir into root_dir before creating the archive. base_dir is the directory where we start archiving from; ie. base_dir will be the common prefix of all files and directories in the archive. root_dir and base_dir both default to the current directory. Returns the name of the archive file.

.. versionchanged:: 3.5 Added support for the xztar format.

.. function:: make_tarball(base_name, base_dir[, compress='gzip', verbose=0, dry_run=0])

'Create an (optional compressed) archive as a tar file from all files in and under base_dir. compress must be 'gzip' (the default), 'bzip2', 'xz', 'compress', or None. For the 'compress' method the compression utility named by :program:compress must be on the default program search path, so this is probably Unix-specific. The output tar file will be named :file:base_dir.tar, possibly plus the appropriate compression extension (.gz, .bz2, .xz or .Z). Return the output filename.

.. versionchanged:: 3.5 Added support for the xz compression.

.. function:: make_zipfile(base_name, base_dir[, verbose=0, dry_run=0])

Create a zip file from all files in and under base_dir. The output zip file will be named base_name + :file:.zip. Uses either the :mod:zipfile Python module (if available) or the InfoZIP :file:zip utility (if installed and found on the default search path). If neither tool is available, raises :exc:DistutilsExecError. Returns the name of the output zip file.

:mod:`distutils.dep_util` --- Dependency checking

.. module:: distutils.dep_util :synopsis: Utility functions for simple dependency checking

This module provides functions for performing simple, timestamp-based dependency of files and groups of files; also, functions based entirely on such timestamp dependency analysis.

.. function:: newer(source, target)

Return true if source exists and is more recently modified than target, or if source exists and target doesn't. Return false if both exist and target is the same age or newer than source. Raise :exc:DistutilsFileError if source does not exist.

.. function:: newer_pairwise(sources, targets)

Walk two filename lists in parallel, testing if each source is newer than its corresponding target. Return a pair of lists (sources, targets) where source is newer than target, according to the semantics of :func:newer.

.. % % equivalent to a listcomp...

.. function:: newer_group(sources, target[, missing='error'])

Return true if target is out-of-date with respect to any file listed in sources. In other words, if target exists and is newer than every file in sources, return false; otherwise return true. missing controls what we do when a source file is missing; the default ('error') is to blow up with an :exc:OSError from inside :func:os.stat; if it is 'ignore', we silently drop any missing source files; if it is 'newer', any missing source files make us assume that target is out-of-date (this is handy in "dry-run" mode: it'll make you pretend to carry out commands that wouldn't work because inputs are missing, but that doesn't matter because you're not actually going to run the commands).

:mod:`distutils.dir_util` --- Directory tree operations

.. module:: distutils.dir_util :synopsis: Utility functions for operating on directories and directory trees

This module provides functions for operating on directories and trees of directories.

.. function:: mkpath(name[, mode=0o777, verbose=0, dry_run=0])

Create a directory and any missing ancestor directories. If the directory already exists (or if name is the empty string, which means the current directory, which of course exists), then do nothing. Raise :exc:DistutilsFileError if unable to create some directory along the way (eg. some sub-path exists, but is a file rather than a directory). If verbose is true, print a one-line summary of each mkdir to stdout. Return the list of directories actually created.

.. function:: create_tree(base_dir, files[, mode=0o777, verbose=0, dry_run=0])

Create all the empty directories under base_dir needed to put files there. base_dir is just the name of a directory which doesn't necessarily exist yet; files is a list of filenames to be interpreted relative to base_dir. base_dir + the directory portion of every file in files will be created if it doesn't already exist. mode, verbose and dry_run flags are as for :func:mkpath.

.. function:: copy_tree(src, dst[, preserve_mode=1, preserve_times=1, preserve_symlinks=0, update=0, verbose=0, dry_run=0])

Copy an entire directory tree src to a new location dst. Both src and dst must be directory names. If src is not a directory, raise :exc:DistutilsFileError. If dst does not exist, it is created with :func:mkpath. The end result of the copy is that every file in src is copied to dst, and directories under src are recursively copied to dst. Return the list of files that were copied or might have been copied, using their output name. The return value is unaffected by update or dry_run: it is simply the list of all files under src, with the names changed to be under dst.

preserve_mode and preserve_times are the same as for :func:distutils.file_util.copy_file; note that they only apply to regular files, not to directories. If preserve_symlinks is true, symlinks will be copied as symlinks (on platforms that support them!); otherwise (the default), the destination of the symlink will be copied. update and verbose are the same as for :func:copy_file.

Files in src that begin with :file:.nfs are skipped (more information on these files is available in answer D2 of the NFS FAQ page <http://nfs.sourceforge.net/#section_d>_).

.. versionchanged:: 3.3.1 NFS files are ignored.

.. function:: remove_tree(directory[, verbose=0, dry_run=0])

Recursively remove directory and all files and directories underneath it. Any errors are ignored (apart from being reported to sys.stdout if verbose is true).

:mod:`distutils.file_util` --- Single file operations

.. module:: distutils.file_util :synopsis: Utility functions for operating on single files

This module contains some utility functions for operating on individual files.

.. function:: copy_file(src, dst[, preserve_mode=1, preserve_times=1, update=0, link=None, verbose=0, dry_run=0])

Copy file src to dst. If dst is a directory, then src is copied there with the same name; otherwise, it must be a filename. (If the file exists, it will be ruthlessly clobbered.) If preserve_mode is true (the default), the file's mode (type and permission bits, or whatever is analogous on the current platform) is copied. If preserve_times is true (the default), the last-modified and last-access times are copied as well. If update is true, src will only be copied if dst does not exist, or if dst does exist but is older than src.

link allows you to make hard links (using :func:os.link) or symbolic links (using :func:os.symlink) instead of copying: set it to 'hard' or 'sym'; if it is None (the default), files are copied. Don't set link on systems that don't support it: :func:copy_file doesn't check if hard or symbolic linking is available. It uses :func:_copy_file_contents to copy file contents.

Return a tuple (dest_name, copied): dest_name is the actual name of the output file, and copied is true if the file was copied (or would have been copied, if dry_run true).

.. % XXX if the destination file already exists, we clobber it if .. % copying, but blow up if linking. Hmmm. And I don't know what .. % macostools.copyfile() does. Should definitely be consistent, and .. % should probably blow up if destination exists and we would be .. % changing it (ie. it's not already a hard/soft link to src OR .. % (not update) and (src newer than dst)).

.. function:: move_file(src, dst[, verbose, dry_run])

Move file src to dst. If dst is a directory, the file will be moved into it with the same name; otherwise, src is just renamed to dst. Returns the new full name of the file.

.. warning::

  Handles cross-device moves on Unix using :func:`copy_file`.  What about
  other systems?

.. function:: write_file(filename, contents)

Create a file called filename and write contents (a sequence of strings without line terminators) to it.

:mod:`distutils.util` --- Miscellaneous other utility functions

.. module:: distutils.util :synopsis: Miscellaneous other utility functions

This module contains other assorted bits and pieces that don't fit into any other utility module.

.. function:: get_platform()

Return a string that identifies the current platform. This is used mainly to distinguish platform-specific build directories and platform-specific built distributions. Typically includes the OS name and version and the architecture (as supplied by 'os.uname()'), although the exact information included depends on the OS; e.g., on Linux, the kernel version isn't particularly important.

Examples of returned values:

linux-i586
linux-alpha
solaris-2.6-sun4u

For non-POSIX platforms, currently just returns sys.platform.

For Mac OS X systems the OS version reflects the minimal version on which binaries will run (that is, the value of MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET during the build of Python), not the OS version of the current system.

For universal binary builds on Mac OS X the architecture value reflects the universal binary status instead of the architecture of the current processor. For 32-bit universal binaries the architecture is fat, for 64-bit universal binaries the architecture is fat64, and for 4-way universal binaries the architecture is universal. Starting from Python 2.7 and Python 3.2 the architecture fat3 is used for a 3-way universal build (ppc, i386, x86_64) and intel is used for a universal build with the i386 and x86_64 architectures

Examples of returned values on Mac OS X:

macosx-10.3-ppc
macosx-10.3-fat
macosx-10.5-universal
macosx-10.6-intel

.. function:: convert_path(pathname)

Return 'pathname' as a name that will work on the native filesystem, i.e. split it on '/' and put it back together again using the current directory separator. Needed because filenames in the setup script are always supplied in Unix style, and have to be converted to the local convention before we can actually use them in the filesystem. Raises :exc:ValueError on non-Unix-ish systems if pathname either starts or ends with a slash.

.. function:: change_root(new_root, pathname)

Return pathname with new_root prepended. If pathname is relative, this is equivalent to os.path.join(new_root,pathname) Otherwise, it requires making pathname relative and then joining the two, which is tricky on DOS/Windows.

.. function:: check_environ()

Ensure that 'os.environ' has all the environment variables we guarantee that users can use in config files, command-line options, etc. Currently this includes:

:envvar:HOME - user's home directory (Unix only)
:envvar:PLAT - description of the current platform, including hardware and OS (see :func:get_platform)

.. function:: subst_vars(s, local_vars)

Perform shell/Perl-style variable substitution on s. Every occurrence of $ followed by a name is considered a variable, and variable is substituted by the value found in the local_vars dictionary, or in os.environ if it's not in local_vars. os.environ is first checked/augmented to guarantee that it contains certain values: see :func:check_environ. Raise :exc:ValueError for any variables not found in either local_vars or os.environ.

Note that this is not a fully-fledged string interpolation function. A valid $variable can consist only of upper and lower case letters, numbers and an underscore. No { } or ( ) style quoting is available.

.. function:: split_quoted(s)

Split a string up according to Unix shell-like rules for quotes and backslashes. In short: words are delimited by spaces, as long as those spaces are not escaped by a backslash, or inside a quoted string. Single and double quotes are equivalent, and the quote characters can be backslash-escaped. The backslash is stripped from any two-character escape sequence, leaving only the escaped character. The quote characters are stripped from any quoted string. Returns a list of words.

.. % Should probably be moved into the standard library.

.. function:: execute(func, args[, msg=None, verbose=0, dry_run=0])

Perform some action that affects the outside world (for instance, writing to the filesystem). Such actions are special because they are disabled by the dry_run flag. This method takes care of all that bureaucracy for you; all you have to do is supply the function to call and an argument tuple for it (to embody the "external action" being performed), and an optional message to print.

.. function:: strtobool(val)

Convert a string representation of truth to true (1) or false (0).

True values are y, yes, t, true, on and 1; false values are n, no, f, false, off and 0. Raises :exc:ValueError if val is anything else.

.. function:: byte_compile(py_files[, optimize=0, force=0, prefix=None, base_dir=None, verbose=1, dry_run=0, direct=None])

Byte-compile a collection of Python source files to :file:.pyc files in a :file:__pycache__ subdirectory (see :pep:3147 and :pep:488). py_files is a list of files to compile; any files that don't end in :file:.py are silently skipped. optimize must be one of the following:

0 - don't optimize
1 - normal optimization (like python -O)
2 - extra optimization (like python -OO)

If force is true, all files are recompiled regardless of timestamps.

The source filename encoded in each :term:bytecode file defaults to the filenames listed in py_files; you can modify these with prefix and basedir. prefix is a string that will be stripped off of each source filename, and base_dir is a directory name that will be prepended (after prefix is stripped). You can supply either or both (or neither) of prefix and base_dir, as you wish.

If dry_run is true, doesn't actually do anything that would affect the filesystem.

Byte-compilation is either done directly in this interpreter process with the standard :mod:py_compile module, or indirectly by writing a temporary script and executing it. Normally, you should let :func:byte_compile figure out to use direct compilation or not (see the source for details). The direct flag is used by the script generated in indirect mode; unless you know what you're doing, leave it set to None.

.. versionchanged:: 3.2.3 Create .pyc files with an :func:import magic tag <imp.get_tag> in their name, in a :file:__pycache__ subdirectory instead of files without tag in the current directory.

.. versionchanged:: 3.5 Create .pyc files according to :pep:488.

.. function:: rfc822_escape(header)

Return a version of header escaped for inclusion in an :rfc:822 header, by ensuring there are 8 spaces space after each newline. Note that it does no other modification of the string.

.. % this can be replaced

.. % \subsection{Distutils objects}

:mod:`distutils.dist` --- The Distribution class

.. module:: distutils.dist :synopsis: Provides the Distribution class, which represents the module distribution being built/installed/distributed

This module provides the :class:~distutils.core.Distribution class, which represents the module distribution being built/installed/distributed.

:mod:`distutils.extension` --- The Extension class

.. module:: distutils.extension :synopsis: Provides the Extension class, used to describe C/C++ extension modules in setup scripts

This module provides the :class:Extension class, used to describe C/C++ extension modules in setup scripts.

.. % \subsection{Ungrouped modules} .. % The following haven't been moved into a more appropriate section yet.

:mod:`distutils.debug` --- Distutils debug mode

.. module:: distutils.debug :synopsis: Provides the debug flag for distutils

This module provides the DEBUG flag.

:mod:`distutils.errors` --- Distutils exceptions

.. module:: distutils.errors :synopsis: Provides standard distutils exceptions

Provides exceptions used by the Distutils modules. Note that Distutils modules may raise standard exceptions; in particular, SystemExit is usually raised for errors that are obviously the end-user's fault (eg. bad command-line arguments).

This module is safe to use in from ... import * mode; it only exports symbols whose names start with Distutils and end with Error.

:mod:`distutils.fancy_getopt` --- Wrapper around the standard getopt module

.. module:: distutils.fancy_getopt :synopsis: Additional getopt functionality

This module provides a wrapper around the standard :mod:getopt module that provides the following additional features:

short and long options are tied together
options have help strings, so :func:fancy_getopt could potentially create a complete usage summary
options set attributes of a passed-in object
boolean options can have "negative aliases" --- eg. if :option:!--quiet is the "negative alias" of :option:!--verbose, then :option:!--quiet on the command line sets verbose to false.

.. function:: fancy_getopt(options, negative_opt, object, args)

Wrapper function. options is a list of (long_option, short_option, help_string) 3-tuples as described in the constructor for :class:FancyGetopt. negative_opt should be a dictionary mapping option names to option names, both the key and value should be in the options list. object is an object which will be used to store values (see the :meth:getopt method of the :class:FancyGetopt class). args is the argument list. Will use sys.argv[1:] if you pass None as args.

.. function:: wrap_text(text, width)

Wraps text to less than width wide.

.. class:: FancyGetopt([option_table=None])

The option_table is a list of 3-tuples: (long_option, short_option, help_string)

If an option takes an argument, its long_option should have '=' appended; short_option should just be a single character, no ':' in any case. short_option should be None if a long_option doesn't have a corresponding short_option. All option tuples must have long options.

The :class:FancyGetopt class provides the following methods:

.. method:: FancyGetopt.getopt([args=None, object=None])

Parse command-line options in args. Store as attributes on object.

If args is None or not supplied, uses sys.argv[1:]. If object is None or not supplied, creates a new :class:OptionDummy instance, stores option values there, and returns a tuple (args, object). If object is supplied, it is modified in place and :func:getopt just returns args; in both cases, the returned args is a modified copy of the passed-in args list, which is left untouched.

.. % and args returned are?

.. method:: FancyGetopt.get_option_order()

Returns the list of (option, value) tuples processed by the previous run of :meth:getopt Raises :exc:RuntimeError if :meth:getopt hasn't been called yet.

.. method:: FancyGetopt.generate_help([header=None])

Generate help text (a list of strings, one per suggested line of output) from the option table for this :class:FancyGetopt object.

If supplied, prints the supplied header at the top of the help.

:mod:`distutils.filelist` --- The FileList class

.. module:: distutils.filelist :synopsis: The FileList class, used for poking about the file system and building lists of files.

This module provides the :class:FileList class, used for poking about the filesystem and building lists of files.

:mod:`distutils.log` --- Simple PEP 282-style logging

.. module:: distutils.log :synopsis: A simple logging mechanism, 282-style

:mod:`distutils.spawn` --- Spawn a sub-process

.. module:: distutils.spawn :synopsis: Provides the spawn() function

This module provides the :func:spawn function, a front-end to various platform-specific functions for launching another program in a sub-process. Also provides :func:find_executable to search the path for a given executable name.

:mod:`distutils.sysconfig` --- System configuration information

.. module:: distutils.sysconfig :synopsis: Low-level access to configuration information of the Python interpreter. .. moduleauthor:: Fred L. Drake, Jr. [email protected] .. moduleauthor:: Greg Ward [email protected] .. sectionauthor:: Fred L. Drake, Jr. [email protected]

The :mod:distutils.sysconfig module provides access to Python's low-level configuration information. The specific configuration variables available depend heavily on the platform and configuration. The specific variables depend on the build process for the specific version of Python being run; the variables are those found in the :file:Makefile and configuration header that are installed with Python on Unix systems. The configuration header is called :file:pyconfig.h for Python versions starting with 2.2, and :file:config.h for earlier versions of Python.

Some additional functions are provided which perform some useful manipulations for other parts of the :mod:distutils package.

.. data:: PREFIX

The result of os.path.normpath(sys.prefix).

.. data:: EXEC_PREFIX

The result of os.path.normpath(sys.exec_prefix).

.. function:: get_config_var(name)

Return the value of a single variable. This is equivalent to get_config_vars().get(name).

.. function:: get_config_vars(...)

Return a set of variable definitions. If there are no arguments, this returns a dictionary mapping names of configuration variables to values. If arguments are provided, they should be strings, and the return value will be a sequence giving the associated values. If a given name does not have a corresponding value, None will be included for that variable.

.. function:: get_config_h_filename()

Return the full path name of the configuration header. For Unix, this will be the header generated by the :program:configure script; for other platforms the header will have been supplied directly by the Python source distribution. The file is a platform-specific text file.

.. function:: get_makefile_filename()

Return the full path name of the :file:Makefile used to build Python. For Unix, this will be a file generated by the :program:configure script; the meaning for other platforms will vary. The file is a platform-specific text file, if it exists. This function is only useful on POSIX platforms.

.. function:: get_python_inc([plat_specific[, prefix]])

Return the directory for either the general or platform-dependent C include files. If plat_specific is true, the platform-dependent include directory is returned; if false or omitted, the platform-independent directory is returned. If prefix is given, it is used as either the prefix instead of :const:PREFIX, or as the exec-prefix instead of :const:EXEC_PREFIX if plat_specific is true.

.. function:: get_python_lib([plat_specific[, standard_lib[, prefix]]])

Return the directory for either the general or platform-dependent library installation. If plat_specific is true, the platform-dependent include directory is returned; if false or omitted, the platform-independent directory is returned. If prefix is given, it is used as either the prefix instead of :const:PREFIX, or as the exec-prefix instead of :const:EXEC_PREFIX if plat_specific is true. If standard_lib is true, the directory for the standard library is returned rather than the directory for the installation of third-party extensions.

The following function is only intended for use within the :mod:distutils package.

.. function:: customize_compiler(compiler)

Do any platform-specific customization of a :class:distutils.ccompiler.CCompiler instance.

This function is only needed on Unix at this time, but should be called consistently to support forward-compatibility. It inserts the information that varies across Unix flavors and is stored in Python's :file:Makefile. This information includes the selected compiler, compiler and linker options, and the extension used by the linker for shared objects.

This function is even more special-purpose, and should only be used from Python's own build procedures.

.. function:: set_python_build()

Inform the :mod:distutils.sysconfig module that it is being used as part of the build process for Python. This changes a lot of relative locations for files, allowing them to be located in the build area rather than in an installed Python.

:mod:`distutils.text_file` --- The TextFile class

.. module:: distutils.text_file :synopsis: provides the TextFile class, a simple interface to text files

This module provides the :class:TextFile class, which gives an interface to text files that (optionally) takes care of stripping comments, ignoring blank lines, and joining lines with backslashes.

.. class:: TextFile([filename=None, file=None, **options])

This class provides a file-like object that takes care of all the things you commonly want to do when processing a text file that has some line-by-line syntax: strip comments (as long as # is your comment character), skip blank lines, join adjacent lines by escaping the newline (ie. backslash at end of line), strip leading and/or trailing whitespace. All of these are optional and independently controllable.

The class provides a :meth:warn method so you can generate warning messages that report physical line number, even if the logical line in question spans multiple physical lines. Also provides :meth:unreadline for implementing line-at-a-time lookahead.

:class:TextFile instances are create with either filename, file, or both. :exc:RuntimeError is raised if both are None. filename should be a string, and file a file object (or something that provides :meth:readline and :meth:close methods). It is recommended that you supply at least filename, so that :class:TextFile can include it in warning messages. If file is not supplied, :class:TextFile creates its own using the :func:open built-in function.

The options are all boolean, and affect the values returned by :meth:readline

.. tabularcolumns:: |l|L|l|

Note that since rstrip_ws can strip the trailing newline, the semantics of :meth:readline must differ from those of the built-in file object's :meth:readline method! In particular, :meth:readline returns None for end-of-file: an empty string might just be a blank line (or an all-whitespace line), if rstrip_ws is true but skip_blanks is not.

.. method:: TextFile.open(filename)

  Open a new file *filename*.  This overrides any *file* or *filename*
  constructor arguments.

.. method:: TextFile.close()

  Close the current file and forget everything we know about it (including the
  filename and the current line number).

.. method:: TextFile.warn(msg[,line=None])

  Print (to stderr) a warning message tied to the current logical line in the
  current file.  If the current logical line in the file spans multiple physical
  lines, the warning refers to the whole range, such as ``"lines 3-5"``.  If
  *line* is supplied,  it overrides the current line number; it may be a list or
  tuple  to indicate a range of physical lines, or an integer for a  single
  physical line.

.. method:: TextFile.readline()

  Read and return a single logical line from the current file (or from an internal
  buffer if lines have previously been "unread" with :meth:`unreadline`).  If the
  *join_lines* option  is true, this may involve reading multiple physical lines
  concatenated into a single string.  Updates the current line number,  so calling
  :meth:`warn` after :meth:`readline` emits a warning  about the physical line(s)
  just read.  Returns ``None`` on end-of-file,  since the empty string can occur
  if *rstrip_ws* is true but  *strip_blanks* is not.

.. method:: TextFile.readlines()

  Read and return the list of all logical lines remaining in the current file.
  This updates the current line number to the last line of the file.

.. method:: TextFile.unreadline(line)

  Push *line* (a string) onto an internal buffer that will be checked by future
  :meth:`readline` calls.  Handy for implementing a parser with line-at-a-time
  lookahead. Note that lines that are "unread" with :meth:`unreadline` are not
  subsequently re-cleansed (whitespace  stripped, or whatever) when read with
  :meth:`readline`. If multiple calls are made to :meth:`unreadline` before a call
  to :meth:`readline`, the lines will be returned most in most recent first order.

:mod:`distutils.version` --- Version number classes

.. module:: distutils.version :synopsis: implements classes that represent module version numbers.

.. % todo .. % \section{Distutils Commands} .. % .. % This part of Distutils implements the various Distutils commands, such .. % as \code{build}, \code{install} &c. Each command is implemented as a .. % separate module, with the command name as the name of the module.

:mod:`distutils.cmd` --- Abstract base class for Distutils commands

.. module:: distutils.cmd :synopsis: This module provides the abstract base class Command. This class is subclassed by the modules in the distutils.command subpackage.

This module supplies the abstract base class :class:Command.

.. class:: Command(dist)

Abstract base class for defining command classes, the "worker bees" of the Distutils. A useful analogy for command classes is to think of them as subroutines with local variables called options. The options are declared in :meth:initialize_options and defined (given their final values) in :meth:finalize_options, both of which must be defined by every command class. The distinction between the two is necessary because option values might come from the outside world (command line, config file, ...), and any options dependent on other options must be computed after these outside influences have been processed --- hence :meth:finalize_options. The body of the subroutine, where it does all its work based on the values of its options, is the :meth:run method, which must also be implemented by every command class.

The class constructor takes a single argument dist, a :class:~distutils.core.Distribution instance.

Creating a new Distutils command

This section outlines the steps to create a new Distutils command.

A new command lives in a module in the :mod:distutils.command package. There is a sample template in that directory called :file:command_template. Copy this file to a new module with the same name as the new command you're implementing. This module should implement a class with the same name as the module (and the command). So, for instance, to create the command peel_banana (so that users can run setup.py peel_banana), you'd copy :file:command_template to :file:distutils/command/peel_banana.py, then edit it so that it's implementing the class :class:peel_banana, a subclass of :class:distutils.cmd.Command.

Subclasses of :class:Command must define the following methods.

.. method:: Command.initialize_options()

Set default values for all the options that this command supports. Note that these defaults may be overridden by other commands, by the setup script, by config files, or by the command-line. Thus, this is not the place to code dependencies between options; generally, :meth:initialize_options implementations are just a bunch of self.foo = None assignments.

.. method:: Command.finalize_options()

Set final values for all the options that this command supports. This is always called as late as possible, ie. after any option assignments from the command-line or from other commands have been done. Thus, this is the place to code option dependencies: if foo depends on bar, then it is safe to set foo from bar as long as foo still has the same value it was assigned in :meth:initialize_options.

.. method:: Command.run()

A command's raison d'etre: carry out the action it exists to perform, controlled by the options initialized in :meth:initialize_options, customized by other commands, the setup script, the command-line, and config files, and finalized in :meth:finalize_options. All terminal output and filesystem interaction should be done by :meth:run.

.. attribute:: Command.sub_commands

sub_commands formalizes the notion of a "family" of commands, e.g. install as the parent with sub-commands install_lib, install_headers, etc. The parent of a family of commands defines sub_commands as a class attribute; it's a list of 2-tuples (command_name, predicate), with command_name a string and predicate a function, a string or None. predicate is a method of the parent command that determines whether the corresponding command is applicable in the current situation. (E.g. install_headers is only applicable if we have any C header files to install.) If predicate is None, that command is always applicable.

sub_commands is usually defined at the end of a class, because predicates can be methods of the class, so they must already have been defined. The canonical example is the :command:install command.

:mod:`distutils.command` --- Individual Distutils commands

.. module:: distutils.command :synopsis: This subpackage contains one module for each standard Distutils command.

.. % \subsubsection{Individual Distutils commands} .. % todo

:mod:`distutils.command.bdist` --- Build a binary installer

.. module:: distutils.command.bdist :synopsis: Build a binary installer for a package

.. % todo

:mod:`distutils.command.bdist_packager` --- Abstract base class for packagers

.. module:: distutils.command.bdist_packager :synopsis: Abstract base class for packagers

.. % todo

:mod:`distutils.command.bdist_dumb` --- Build a "dumb" installer

.. module:: distutils.command.bdist_dumb :synopsis: Build a "dumb" installer - a simple archive of files

.. % todo

:mod:`distutils.command.bdist_msi` --- Build a Microsoft Installer binary package

.. module:: distutils.command.bdist_msi :synopsis: Build a binary distribution as a Windows MSI file

.. class:: bdist_msi

Builds a Windows Installer_ (.msi) binary package.

.. _Windows Installer: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc185688(VS.85).aspx

In most cases, the bdist_msi installer is a better choice than the bdist_wininst installer, because it provides better support for Win64 platforms, allows administrators to perform non-interactive installations, and allows installation through group policies.

:mod:`distutils.command.bdist_rpm` --- Build a binary distribution as a Redhat RPM and SRPM

.. module:: distutils.command.bdist_rpm :synopsis: Build a binary distribution as a Redhat RPM and SRPM

.. % todo

:mod:`distutils.command.bdist_wininst` --- Build a Windows installer

.. module:: distutils.command.bdist_wininst :synopsis: Build a Windows installer

.. % todo

:mod:`distutils.command.sdist` --- Build a source distribution

.. module:: distutils.command.sdist :synopsis: Build a source distribution

.. % todo

:mod:`distutils.command.build` --- Build all files of a package

.. module:: distutils.command.build :synopsis: Build all files of a package

.. % todo

:mod:`distutils.command.build_clib` --- Build any C libraries in a package

.. module:: distutils.command.build_clib :synopsis: Build any C libraries in a package

.. % todo

:mod:`distutils.command.build_ext` --- Build any extensions in a package

.. module:: distutils.command.build_ext :synopsis: Build any extensions in a package

.. % todo

:mod:`distutils.command.build_py` --- Build the .py/.pyc files of a package

.. module:: distutils.command.build_py :synopsis: Build the .py/.pyc files of a package

.. class:: build_py

.. class:: build_py_2to3

Alternative implementation of build_py which also runs the 2to3 conversion library on each .py file that is going to be installed. To use this in a setup.py file for a distribution that is designed to run with both Python 2.x and 3.x, add::

 try:
     from distutils.command.build_py import build_py_2to3 as build_py
 except ImportError:
     from distutils.command.build_py import build_py

to your setup.py, and later::

  cmdclass = {'build_py': build_py}

to the invocation of setup().

:mod:`distutils.command.build_scripts` --- Build the scripts of a package

.. module:: distutils.command.build_scripts :synopsis: Build the scripts of a package

.. % todo

:mod:`distutils.command.clean` --- Clean a package build area

.. module:: distutils.command.clean :synopsis: Clean a package build area

This command removes the temporary files created by :command:build and its subcommands, like intermediary compiled object files. With the --all option, the complete build directory will be removed.

Extension modules built :ref:in place <distutils-build-ext-inplace> will not be cleaned, as they are not in the build directory.

:mod:`distutils.command.config` --- Perform package configuration

.. module:: distutils.command.config :synopsis: Perform package configuration

.. % todo

:mod:`distutils.command.install` --- Install a package

.. module:: distutils.command.install :synopsis: Install a package

.. % todo

:mod:`distutils.command.install_data` --- Install data files from a package

.. module:: distutils.command.install_data :synopsis: Install data files from a package

.. % todo

:mod:`distutils.command.install_headers` --- Install C/C++ header files from a package

.. module:: distutils.command.install_headers :synopsis: Install C/C++ header files from a package

.. % todo

:mod:`distutils.command.install_lib` --- Install library files from a package

.. module:: distutils.command.install_lib :synopsis: Install library files from a package

.. % todo

:mod:`distutils.command.install_scripts` --- Install script files from a package

.. module:: distutils.command.install_scripts :synopsis: Install script files from a package

.. % todo

:mod:`distutils.command.register` --- Register a module with the Python Package Index

.. module:: distutils.command.register :synopsis: Register a module with the Python Package Index

The register command registers the package with the Python Package Index. This is described in more detail in :pep:301.

.. % todo

:mod:`distutils.command.check` --- Check the meta-data of a package

.. module:: distutils.command.check :synopsis: Check the metadata of a package

The check command performs some tests on the meta-data of a package. For example, it verifies that all required meta-data are provided as the arguments passed to the :func:setup function.

.. % todo

API Reference

:mod:distutils.core --- Core Distutils functionality

:mod:distutils.ccompiler --- CCompiler base class

:mod:distutils.unixccompiler --- Unix C Compiler

:mod:distutils.msvccompiler --- Microsoft Compiler

:mod:distutils.bcppcompiler --- Borland Compiler

:mod:distutils.cygwincompiler --- Cygwin Compiler

:mod:distutils.archive_util --- Archiving utilities

:mod:distutils.dep_util --- Dependency checking

:mod:distutils.dir_util --- Directory tree operations

:mod:distutils.file_util --- Single file operations

:mod:distutils.util --- Miscellaneous other utility functions

:mod:distutils.dist --- The Distribution class

:mod:distutils.extension --- The Extension class

:mod:distutils.debug --- Distutils debug mode

:mod:distutils.errors --- Distutils exceptions

:mod:distutils.fancy_getopt --- Wrapper around the standard getopt module

:mod:distutils.filelist --- The FileList class

:mod:distutils.log --- Simple PEP 282-style logging

:mod:distutils.spawn --- Spawn a sub-process

:mod:distutils.sysconfig --- System configuration information

:mod:distutils.text_file --- The TextFile class

:mod:distutils.version --- Version number classes

:mod:distutils.cmd --- Abstract base class for Distutils commands

Creating a new Distutils command

:mod:distutils.command --- Individual Distutils commands

:mod:distutils.command.bdist --- Build a binary installer

:mod:distutils.command.bdist_packager --- Abstract base class for packagers

:mod:distutils.command.bdist_dumb --- Build a "dumb" installer

:mod:distutils.command.bdist_msi --- Build a Microsoft Installer binary package

:mod:distutils.command.bdist_rpm --- Build a binary distribution as a Redhat RPM and SRPM

:mod:distutils.command.bdist_wininst --- Build a Windows installer

:mod:distutils.command.sdist --- Build a source distribution

:mod:distutils.command.build --- Build all files of a package

:mod:distutils.command.build_clib --- Build any C libraries in a package

:mod:distutils.command.build_ext --- Build any extensions in a package

:mod:distutils.command.build_py --- Build the .py/.pyc files of a package

:mod:distutils.command.build_scripts --- Build the scripts of a package

:mod:distutils.command.clean --- Clean a package build area

:mod:distutils.command.config --- Perform package configuration

:mod:distutils.command.install --- Install a package

:mod:distutils.command.install_data --- Install data files from a package

:mod:distutils.command.install_headers --- Install C/C++ header files from a package

:mod:distutils.command.install_lib --- Install library files from a package

:mod:distutils.command.install_scripts --- Install script files from a package

:mod:distutils.command.register --- Register a module with the Python Package Index

:mod:distutils.command.check --- Check the meta-data of a package

:mod:`distutils.core` --- Core Distutils functionality

:mod:`distutils.ccompiler` --- CCompiler base class

:mod:`distutils.unixccompiler` --- Unix C Compiler

:mod:`distutils.msvccompiler` --- Microsoft Compiler

:mod:`distutils.bcppcompiler` --- Borland Compiler

:mod:`distutils.cygwincompiler` --- Cygwin Compiler

:mod:`distutils.archive_util` --- Archiving utilities

:mod:`distutils.dep_util` --- Dependency checking

:mod:`distutils.dir_util` --- Directory tree operations

:mod:`distutils.file_util` --- Single file operations

:mod:`distutils.util` --- Miscellaneous other utility functions

:mod:`distutils.dist` --- The Distribution class

:mod:`distutils.extension` --- The Extension class

:mod:`distutils.debug` --- Distutils debug mode

:mod:`distutils.errors` --- Distutils exceptions

:mod:`distutils.fancy_getopt` --- Wrapper around the standard getopt module

:mod:`distutils.filelist` --- The FileList class

:mod:`distutils.log` --- Simple PEP 282-style logging

:mod:`distutils.spawn` --- Spawn a sub-process

:mod:`distutils.sysconfig` --- System configuration information

:mod:`distutils.text_file` --- The TextFile class

:mod:`distutils.version` --- Version number classes

:mod:`distutils.cmd` --- Abstract base class for Distutils commands

:mod:`distutils.command` --- Individual Distutils commands

:mod:`distutils.command.bdist` --- Build a binary installer

:mod:`distutils.command.bdist_packager` --- Abstract base class for packagers

:mod:`distutils.command.bdist_dumb` --- Build a "dumb" installer

:mod:`distutils.command.bdist_msi` --- Build a Microsoft Installer binary package

:mod:`distutils.command.bdist_rpm` --- Build a binary distribution as a Redhat RPM and SRPM

:mod:`distutils.command.bdist_wininst` --- Build a Windows installer

:mod:`distutils.command.sdist` --- Build a source distribution

:mod:`distutils.command.build` --- Build all files of a package

:mod:`distutils.command.build_clib` --- Build any C libraries in a package

:mod:`distutils.command.build_ext` --- Build any extensions in a package

:mod:`distutils.command.build_py` --- Build the .py/.pyc files of a package

:mod:`distutils.command.build_scripts` --- Build the scripts of a package

:mod:`distutils.command.clean` --- Clean a package build area

:mod:`distutils.command.config` --- Perform package configuration

:mod:`distutils.command.install` --- Install a package

:mod:`distutils.command.install_data` --- Install data files from a package

:mod:`distutils.command.install_headers` --- Install C/C++ header files from a package

:mod:`distutils.command.install_lib` --- Install library files from a package

:mod:`distutils.command.install_scripts` --- Install script files from a package

:mod:`distutils.command.register` --- Register a module with the Python Package Index

:mod:`distutils.command.check` --- Check the meta-data of a package