This document discusses Debian packaging for Python applications and libraries. It provides an overview of making source and binary packages, using PPAs and recipe builds to publish packages, and submitting packages to Debian or Ubuntu. It also discusses future directions like using distutils metadata to automatically generate Debian packages and tools to convert packages between PyPI and Debian repositories.

1. Debian packaging for Python applications and
libraries
Sheffield Python Group
25 September 2012
Thomas Kluyver

2. Overview
● Making a package
– The debian/ directory
– Source packages
– Binary packages
● PPAs & recipe builds
● Submitting to Debian or Ubuntu
● The future

3. debian/
● control – metadata for your source package
and binary package(s)
● rules – makefile describing how to build your
package
● changelog – records each version of the
package, defines version number
● patches/ – changes applied to the source
before building it.
● copyright – license info for every file
● watch – where to check for newer versions

4. Source package
● taxonome_0.12.orig.tar.gz
● taxonome_0.12-1ppa2.debian.tar.gz
● taxonome_0.12-1ppa2.dsc
● taxonome_0.12-1ppa2_source.changes

5. Binary packages
taxonome_0.12-1ppa1_all.deb
● This is what you install
● Different ways to build:
– Local build
– pbuilder (creates a separate installation)
– Build servers (for all published packages)

6. Demos

7. PPAs
● Personal Package Archives
● Build and publish your own packages
● Users add PPA to install packages:
– sudo apt-add-repository
ppa:takluyver/taxonome
● Recipe builds: build from VCS every day
– Testing, dogfooding

8. Submitting packages
● ITP: intent to package
● RFS: request for sponsorship
● lintian: automated nitpicking
– --pedantic
– lintian4py
● DFSG: Debian Free Software Guidelines
– be very clear about copyright
● Ubuntu MyApps system
– Applications only, should be simpler
– Some teething trouble with reviewing

9. The Future
Can we use distutils metadata to make Debian
packages automatically?
● Stdeb (not exactly future)
– https://github.com/astraw/stdeb
● pkgme
– https://launchpad.net/pkgme
● PyPI to Debian repository convertor
– https://gitorious.org/pypi2deb

10. More information
● Lots of info on the web, but alternative tools
make it confusing.
● A clear starting point is the Ubuntu packaging
guide:
http://developer.ubuntu.com/packaging/html/python-packaging.html
● Debian Python Modules Team (DPMT) and
Python Apps Packaging Team (PAPT) can
help, but aren’t always newcomer-friendly.