Tools

Python is often used in conjunction with a few different tools:

  • pyenv – Python version manager.
    pyenv can install and manage multiple versions of Python itself on your computer. Useful if a program needs a different version of Python than the one that comes with your OS.

  • pipenv – Python virtualenv management tool.
    Pipenv automatically creates and manages a virtualenv for your projects, adding and removing packages from your Pipfile as you install/uninstall packages.

Using PyPI

PyPI is the Python Package Index.

Don’t install anything from PyPI as root. Use a virtual environment:

sudo yum install python-setuptools python-virtualenv
virtualenv /opt/myapp
source /opt/myapp/bin/activate
# Now install anything from PyPI into this virtual environment

(Fedora) To install a Python3 PyPI package into your home directory:

pip3 install --user my-package-name

Using pip

If a python upgrade has messed up pip, then you can run pip against a specific version of Python:

python3.5 -m pip <command> <args>

You can also edit the pip script and modify the shebang line at the top:

#!/usr/local/opt/python3/bin/python3.6

Setuptools

Setuptools is a way of installing Python packages.

They will usually be installed into ~/.local/bin.

Packages

Weasyprint

pip3 install --user weasyprint