Differential Analysis: distribute, distutils, setuptools, and distutils2

python

package-management

dependency-resolution

virtual-environment

byAnton Shumikhin·Sep 10, 2024

distutils is the packaging module of yesteryears, and as of now, deprecated. setuptools came to the rescue, becoming popular for its dependency management features and the find_packages() function's ease. distribute was a temporary fork of setuptools, which was eventually merged back, enhancing setuptools even further. distutils2 was an ambitious next-stage evolution that, unfortunately, didn't make it.

When it comes to packaging, the way to go is setuptools:

from setuptools import setup, find_packages

# Distributing your precious code is as easy as...
setup(
    name="YourPackage",
    version="1.0",
    packages=find_packages(),
    install_requires=['requests', 'numpy'], # Dependencies? We handle those!
)

Choose setuptools for modern packaging with dependency handling, and park the rest.

Updated Practices in Packaging

Ride the wave of Python packaging evolution. distutils is deprecated as of Python 3.10, signaling its end. Opt for setuptools, 'pip' and 'virtualenv'—the modern troika of Python package management providing robust dependency resolution and efficient virtual environment creation.

For complex builds, consider scikit-build that makes building a breeze. And in the world of scientific computing or multi-language projects, Conda stands tall with its robust support for managing complex environments and packages.

Remember, Python packaging is dynamic. Have a look at the publication date of guides and advice, and always refer to official documentations, PyPi pages, and GitHub repos for the latest data.

Modern Workflows and Porting Approaches

In the era of automated package deployments, setuptools manages automatic 2to3 conversions, making it the new-age Python packaging hero. It's the de facto standard—an outcome of extending distutils with added functionalities and eventually absorbing distribute.

distlib and packaging play crucial roles behind the scenes. They provide support to higher-level tools like pip and setuptools.

Porting strategies to Python 3 need alternatives too. Be sure to explore the Python Packaging User Guide's Project Summaries for discovering additional tools and strategies.

Insight into Packaging Evolution

Understanding the impacts of these tools on the Python ecosystem is crucial:

distutils: Once the core packaging suite, its days are numbered with PEP 632 putting the final nail in the coffin.
setuptools: It introduced egg formats, easy_install, and shifted to wheel format support. Its continuous progress has standardized automatic script creation and entry points.
distribute: A temporary detour from setuptools that led to namespace package support and PEP 345 compatibility, among others.
distutils2: An ambitious attempt that did not see daylight; however, served valuable lessons in Python packaging history.