Hatch Python eggs with setuptools

David takes a look at the setuptools framework, a side project of the Python Enterprise Application Kit (PEAK). setuptools replaces the standard distutils library and adds versioned package and dependency management to Python. Perl users will be familiar with CPAN, and Ruby users with Gems; the tool ez_setup that bootstraps setuptools and the expanded easy_install that comes with it act in conjunction with "Cheeseshop" (the Python Package Index, also called "PyPI") to achieve the same thing. Moreover, setuptools lets you package your libraries in a single-file archive called an "egg," which is a lot like a Javaâ„¢ JAR file, but for Python.