Getting Set Up for a Distutils2 Sprint
To get ready for a Distutils2 sprint, you need to complete these steps:
Install Python 2.5, 2.6 or 2.7 (recommended). If your operating system has a package manager, use it (and also install a python2.y-devel or python2.y-dev package if it exists), otherwise follow the instructions.
Install Mercurial. If needed, read instructions (or Windows instructions). If you have never used it, read Ground up Mercurial and Setting up for a Team.
If you don't have TortoiseHg, you need to install a merge tool.
Install unittest2 and docutils, they are needed to run the tests for Distutils2. If your package manager has them, use it; if you use virtualenv, you know how to install them; otherwise, you will need to download them from the Python Packages Index, unpack the archives and install them with the command python setup.py install --user. On the sprint day we will have copies of the zip/tar files on USB sticks for your convenience.
Mercurial requires a bit of configuration before you can use it. You need to define a user name (in the form “Name <email@address>”) in a configuration file. Some very useful features of Mercurial can also be enabled in the same config file; this page will be edited later with examples or we'll do it at the start of the sprint.
You can now get a clone of the Distutils2 repository. Open a terminal or command prompt and type this: hg clone https://bitbucket.org/python_mirrors/distutils2 . You can also use the “Fork” button on the Bitbucket website to create a long-lived clone if you think you will contribute after the sprint.
There's a list of Distutils2 bugs suitable for a sprint. You can have a look if you are curious, but not all bugs clearly describe what the problem is or how we may fix it. At the beginning of the sprint we will explain quickly what Distutils2 does, how it works and how to fix bugs.
Finally, a legal note: Because Distutils2 is distributed by the Python Software Foundation under the Python license, you will have to sign a contributor agreement to allow the PSF to redistribute your code. You can read and prepare the agreement before the sprint, or use one of the copies we will have with us.