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+Overview
+========
+
+This document describes the steps required to install IPython. IPython is organized into a number of subpackages, each of which has its own dependencies. All of the subpackages come with IPython, so you don't need to download and install them separately. However, to use a given subpackage, you will need to install all of its dependencies.
+
+
+Please let us know if you have problems installing IPython or any of its
+dependencies. IPython requires Python version 2.4 or greater. We have not tested
+IPython with the upcoming 2.6 or 3.0 versions.
+
+.. warning::
+
+ IPython will not work with Python 2.3 or below.
+
+Some of the installation approaches use the :mod:`setuptools` package and its :command:`easy_install` command line program. In many scenarios, this provides the most simple method of installing IPython and its dependencies. It is not required though. More information about :mod:`setuptools` can be found on its website.
+
+More general information about installing Python packages can be found in Python's documentation at http://www.python.org/doc/.
+
+Installing IPython itself
+=========================
+
+Given a properly built Python, the basic interactive IPython shell will work with no external dependencies. However, some Python distributions (particularly on Windows and OS X), don't come with a working :mod:`readline` module. The IPython shell will work without :mod:`readline`, but will lack many features that users depend on, such as tab completion and command line editing. See below for details of how to make sure you have a working :mod:`readline`.
+
+Installation using easy_install
+-------------------------------
+
+If you have :mod:`setuptools` installed, the easiest way of getting IPython is to simple use :command:`easy_install`::
+
+ $ easy_install IPython
+
+That's it.
+
+Installation from source
+------------------------
+
+If you don't want to use :command:`easy_install`, or don't have it installed, just grab the latest stable build of IPython from `here `_. Then do the following::
+
+ $ tar -xzf ipython.tar.gz
+ $ cd ipython
+ $ python setup.py install
+
+If you are installing to a location (like ``/usr/local``) that requires higher permissions, you may need to run the last command with :command:`sudo`.
+
+Windows
+-------
+
+There are a few caveats for Windows users. The main issue is that a basic ``python setup.py install`` approach won't create ``.bat`` file or Start Menu shortcuts, which most users want. To get an installation with these, there are two choices:
+
+1. Install using :command:`easy_install`.
+
+2. Install using our binary ``.exe`` Windows installer, which can be found at `here `_
+
+3. Install from source, but using :mod:`setuptools` (``python setupegg.py install``).
+
+Installing the development version
+----------------------------------
+
+It is also possible to install the development version of IPython from our `Bazaar `_ source code
+repository. To do this you will need to have Bazaar installed on your system. Then just do::
+
+ $ bzr branch lp:ipython
+ $ cd ipython
+ $ python setup.py install
+
+Again, this last step on Windows won't create ``.bat`` files or Start Menu shortcuts, so you will have to use one of the other approaches listed above.
+
+Some users want to be able to follow the development branch as it changes. If you have :mod:`setuptools` installed, this is easy. Simply replace the last step by::
+
+ $ python setupegg.py develop
+
+This creates links in the right places and installs the command line script to the appropriate places. Then, if you want to update your IPython at any time, just do::
+
+ $ bzr pull
+
+Basic optional dependencies
+===========================
+
+There are a number of basic optional dependencies that most users will want to get. These are:
+
+* readline (for command line editing, tab completion, etc.)
+* nose (to run the IPython test suite)
+* pexpect (to use things like irunner)
+
+If you are comfortable installing these things yourself, have at it, otherwise read on for more details.
+
+readline
+--------
+
+In principle, all Python distributions should come with a working :mod:`readline` module. But, reality is not quite that simple. There are two common situations where you won't have a working :mod:`readline` module:
+
+* If you are using the built-in Python on Mac OS X.
+
+* If you are running Windows, which doesn't have a :mod:`readline` module.
+
+On OS X, the built-in Python doesn't not have :mod:`readline` because of license issues. Starting with OS X 10.5 (Leopard), Apple's built-in Python has a BSD-licensed not-quite-compatible readline replacement. As of IPython 0.9, many of the issues related to the differences between readline and libedit have been resolved. For many users, libedit may be sufficient.
+
+Most users on OS X will want to get the full :mod:`readline` module. To get a working :mod:`readline` module, just do (with :mod:`setuptools` installed)::
+
+ $ easy_install readline
+
+.. note:
+
+ Other Python distributions on OS X (such as fink, MacPorts and the
+ official python.org binaries) already have readline installed so
+ you don't have to do this step.
+
+If needed, the readline egg can be build and installed from source (see the wiki page at http://ipython.scipy.org/moin/InstallationOSXLeopard).
+
+On Windows, you will need the PyReadline module. PyReadline is a separate, Windows only implementation of readline that uses native Windows calls through :mod:`ctypes`. The easiest way of installing PyReadline is you use the binary installer available `here `_. The :mod:`ctypes` module, which comes with Python 2.5 and greater, is required by PyReadline. It is available for Python 2.4 at http://python.net/crew/theller/ctypes.
+
+nose
+----
+
+To run the IPython test suite you will need the :mod:`nose` package. Nose provides a great way of sniffing out and running all of the IPython tests. The simplest way of getting nose, is to use :command:`easy_install`::
+
+ $ easy_install nose
+
+Another way of getting this is to do::
+
+ $ easy_install IPython[test]
+
+For more installation options, see the `nose website `_. Once you have nose installed, you can run IPython's test suite using the iptest command::
+
+ $ iptest
+
+
+pexpect
+-------
+
+The `pexpect `_ package is used in IPython's :command:`irunner` script. On Unix platforms (including OS X), just do::
+
+ $ easy_install pexpect
+
+Windows users are out of luck as pexpect does not run there.
+
+Dependencies for IPython.kernel (parallel computing)
+====================================================
+
+The IPython kernel provides a nice architecture for parallel computing. The main focus of this architecture is on interactive parallel computing. These features require a number of additional packages:
+
+* zope.interface (yep, we use interfaces)
+* Twisted (asynchronous networking framework)
+* Foolscap (a nice, secure network protocol)
+* pyOpenSSL (security for network connections)
+
+On a Unix style platform (including OS X), if you want to use :mod:`setuptools`, you can just do::
+
+ $ easy_install IPython[kernel] # the first three
+ $ easy_install IPython[security] # pyOpenSSL
+
+zope.interface and Twisted
+--------------------------
+
+On Unix style platforms (including OS X), the simplest way of getting the these is to use :command:`easy_install`::
+
+ $ easy_install zope.interface
+ $ easy_install Twisted
+
+Of course, you can also download the source tarballs from the `Twisted website `_ and the `zope.interface page at PyPI `_ and do the usual ``python setup.py install`` if you prefer.
+
+Windows is a bit different. For zope.interface and Twisted, simply get the latest binary ``.exe`` installer from the Twisted website. This installer includes both zope.interface and Twisted and should just work.
+
+Foolscap
+--------
+
+Foolscap uses Twisted to provide a very nice secure RPC protocol that we use to implement our parallel computing features.
+
+On all platforms a simple::
+
+ $ easy_install foolscap
+
+should work. You can also download the source tarballs from the `Foolscap website `_ and do ``python setup.py install`` if you prefer.
+
+pyOpenSSL
+---------
+
+IPython requires an older version of pyOpenSSL (0.6 rather than the current 0.7). There are a couple of options for getting this:
+
+1. Most Linux distributions have packages for pyOpenSSL.
+2. The built-in Python 2.5 on OS X 10.5 already has it installed.
+3. There are source tarballs on the pyOpenSSL website. On Unix-like
+ platforms, these can be built using ``python seutp.py install``.
+4. There is also a binary ``.exe`` Windows installer on the `pyOpenSSL website `_.
+
+Dependencies for IPython.frontend (the IPython GUI)
+===================================================
+
+wxPython
+--------
+
+Starting with IPython 0.9, IPython has a new IPython.frontend package that has a nice wxPython based IPython GUI. As you would expect, this GUI requires wxPython. Most Linux distributions have wxPython packages available and the built-in Python on OS X comes with wxPython preinstalled. For Windows, a binary installer is available on the `wxPython website `_.
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