[Biopython-dev] Installation documentation

[Brad Chapman]

Hi Peter;

> Well, easy_install isn't (yet) an official python standard so I hadn't
> previously worried about it - our wiki Downloads page does mention it.
>  Frankly the less "official" ways the are to install, the less ways it
> can go wrong, and then the less questions need to be asked when it
> goes wrong.

I hear you about too many options. I am a fan of easy_install
and PyPi seems to have some momentum even if it is not officially
endorsed. The way I normally work on cluster/shared machines is to
have an up to date local version of Python and easy_install
things I need. PyPi can also handle dependencies, which is nice -- I
actually wrote some commented out code in setup.py which will help
enable automatic numpy installation now that we are supporting only
2.4 or better.

> Nor had I worried about how PyPi's listing might need to be updated.
> I assumed it was clever enough to scan the http://biopython.org/DIST/
> directory and parse the filenames.  Is the real answer you (Brad) kept
> it up to date?
> http://pypi.python.org/pypi/biopython/

Yes, I've been doing it on PyPi. The -f option you recommended on
the wiki is good in case that is out of date, and I copied that into
the install docs for consistency.

> > Peter, if you have an account on pypi, let me know your login and I
> > can add you as an owner for Biopython.
> 
> I don't have an account on pypi.

Cool -- if you end up wanting to play with it just let me know and
I'll add you.

Brad