Alright, Python’s bdist command for creating packages because who doesn’t love a good package? This is the part where I try to make it sound exciting by using words like “package” and “command,” but in reality, we’re just going to create some files that can be easily installed on other computers.
So what exactly is bdist? It stands for binary distribution, which means creating a package of your Python code that includes all the necessary files (like .py and .txt) so someone else can install it without having to download everything separately. And let’s face it, who wants to go through that hassle when you could just run one command?
Here’s how it works: first, make sure your code is in a directory with a setup.py file (if you don’t have this yet, create one). This file tells Python what files to include and where they should be installed on the other computer. For example:
# Importing the setup function from the setuptools library
from setuptools import setup
# Defining the name and version of the package
# The name should be unique and descriptive
# The version should follow the semantic versioning format (major.minor.patch)
setup(name='my_package', version='1.0')
# The setup function takes in various arguments to configure the package
# In this case, we are only providing the name and version
# Other arguments can be added as needed, such as description, author, etc.
This creates a package called “my_package” with version 1.0. You can add more options to this file, but for now let’s keep it simple.
Next, open up your terminal or command prompt and navigate to the directory containing setup.py. Then run:
# This line specifies the interpreter to be used for executing the script
#!/bin/bash
# This line creates a package called "my_package" with version 1.0
# The package can be used for distribution or installation
# Additional options can be added to this file for customization
# For now, let's keep it simple
python setup.py bdist
# This line navigates to the directory containing setup.py
cd /path/to/directory
# This line runs the setup.py file, which creates the package
python setup.py bdist
# This line ensures that the package is built and ready for distribution
# The "bdist" option stands for "built distribution"
# Other options can be used for different types of distributions
# For example, "sdist" for source distribution or "wheel" for wheel distribution
# More information on these options can be found in the setup.py documentation
python setup.py bdist
# This line can be used to specify a specific version of Python to use
# For example, "python3 setup.py bdist" would use Python 3 instead of the default version
# This can be useful if you have multiple versions of Python installed on your system
python setup.py bdist
This will create a package in a format specific to your operating system (e.g., .exe on Windows). If you’re using Unix, it will be called my_package-1.0.tar.gz; if you’re using Windows, it will be called my_package-1.0.zip.
Now that we have our package, let’s install it on another computer (assuming they also have Python installed). On Unix:
# This script is used to install a package on another computer, assuming they have Python installed.
# The package is in the form of a tar file, which is specific to Unix operating systems.
# The first line extracts the contents of the tar file using the "tar" command.
tar xzf my_package-1.0.tar.gz
# The second line changes the current directory to the extracted package directory.
cd my_package-1.0
# The third line runs the setup.py file using the "python" command, which installs the package on the computer.
python setup.py install
On Windows, replace “tar” and “.tar.gz” with “unzip” and “.zip,” respectively:
# This script is used to install a package on Windows by unzipping it and running the setup.py file.
# On Windows, "tar" and ".tar.gz" are replaced with "unzip" and ".zip," respectively.
# Unzip the package file "my_package-1.0.zip"
unzip my_package-1.0.zip
# Change directory to the unzipped package folder "my_package-1.0"
cd my_package-1.0
# Run the setup.py file to install the package
python setup.py install
And that’s it! Your package is now installed on the other computer, ready to be used in all its glory.
It may not sound exciting at first, but trust me, your future self (and others) will thank you for making things easier.