[SciPy-dev] packages inside and outside scipy distribution

[David Cournapeau]

Hi,

    I would like to know what is the preferred approach to format a 
package for numpy/scipy, developed outside scipy (but eventually to be 
included in scipy), particularly the meta-files. I have already a 
working package, but I would like it to conform to scipy 'standards' for 
packaging (doc, tests, etc...). For now, the structure of the package is:

root_dir/ where there are files such as README, LICENSE, Changelog, etc...
root_dir/pkg_name where the implementation is (eventually in 
sub-directories)

For now, the setup.py is in root_dir, because I don't want to 'pollute' 
root_dir/pkg_name with files which are not a part of the "binary" 
distribution (by binary, I mean here all the files required by the 
package to work, including the doc). If I understand correctly, a scipy 
package should not have a root_dir, but everything, including the 
setup.py in the root_dir/pkg_name. Is there a way to do that without 
polluting the directory with files produced by setup.py, such as dist 
dir, MANIFEST, etc... ?

    More fundamentally, what would be a sensible approach to develop a 
package 'outside scipy', with the goal to propose it for inclusion into 
scipy later ?

    cheers,

    David