This is one of the tier 1 standards. See full list on the main page.
The command pip install . (or pip install -e .) will build and install all of the modules in the software repository. In order for this command to work, the software repository must have a pyproject.toml file and resemble that of a package structure.
Allowing the software repository to be installable via pip install . enables users as well as external tools and services (e.g. ReadtheDocs, etc.) to simply and easily install the software in an appropriate software environment. Furthermore, the use of a pyproject.toml module allows developers to set package installation requirement parameters and metadata, resulting in a simple command to be used on the part of the end user. If the software repository is organized as a python package, users will be able to import the software into a python environment with import package_name.
There is only one option for complying with this standard for Python, which is described below. If the software is in a language other than Python, you will need to research how to setup an installation process such that it meets the ease-of-use standards described in the above section.
- The software must be organized in a package-like structure. See the STScI Style Guide on Python Packaging for further details.
- You must have a
pyproject.tomlfile in the top level of the software repository. See Python's tutorial example for more information on what to include in this file. Also see the example listed under the "Useful Links" section below.
You can check that your module/package is installed correctly by running pip install . in the outer-most level of your package, and then importing it with import package_name.
- An STScI template GitHub repository which shows another example of
pyproject.toml