__init__(self, dist)
(Constructor)

Create and initialize a new Command object. Most importantly, invokes the 'initialize_options()' method, which is the real initializer and depends on the actual command being instantiated.

announce(self, msg, level=1)

If the current verbosity level is of greater than or equal to 'level' print 'msg' to stdout.

copy_file(self, infile, outfile, preserve_mode=1, preserve_times=1, link=None, level=1)

Copy a file respecting verbose, dry-run and force flags. (The former two default to whatever is in the Distribution object, and the latter defaults to false for commands that don't define it.)

copy_tree(self, infile, outfile, preserve_mode=1, preserve_times=1, preserve_symlinks=0, level=1)

Copy an entire directory tree respecting verbose, dry-run, and force flags.

debug_print(self, msg)

Print 'msg' to stdout if the global DEBUG (taken from the DISTUTILS_DEBUG environment variable) flag is true.

ensure_filename(self, option)

Ensure that 'option' is the name of an existing file.

ensure_string(self, option, default=None)

Ensure that 'option' is a string; if not defined, set it to 'default'.

ensure_string_list(self, option)

Ensure that 'option' is a list of strings. If 'option' is currently a string, we split it either on /,s*/ or /s+/, so "foo bar baz", "foo,bar,baz", and "foo, bar baz" all become ["foo", "bar", "baz"].

finalize_options(self)

Set final values for all the options that this command supports. This is always called as late as possible, ie. after any option assignments from the command-line or from other commands have been done. Thus, this is the place to code option dependencies: if 'foo' depends on 'bar', then it is safe to set 'foo' from 'bar' as long as 'foo' still has the same value it was assigned in 'initialize_options()'.

This method must be implemented by all command classes.

get_finalized_command(self, command, create=1)

Wrapper around Distribution's 'get_command_obj()' method: find (create if necessary and 'create' is true) the command object for 'command', call its 'ensure_finalized()' method, and return the finalized command object.

get_sub_commands(self)

Determine the sub-commands that are relevant in the current distribution (ie., that need to be run). This is based on the 'sub_commands' class attribute: each tuple in that list may include a method that we call to determine if the subcommand needs to be run for the current distribution. Return a list of command names.

initialize_options(self)

Set default values for all the options that this command supports. Note that these defaults may be overridden by other commands, by the setup script, by config files, or by the command-line. Thus, this is not the place to code dependencies between options; generally, 'initialize_options()' implementations are just a bunch of "self.foo = None" assignments.

This method must be implemented by all command classes.

make_file(self, infiles, outfile, func, args, exec_msg=None, skip_msg=None, level=1)

Special case of 'execute()' for operations that process one or more input files and generate one output file. Works just like 'execute()', except the operation is skipped and a different message printed if 'outfile' already exists and is newer than all files listed in 'infiles'. If the command defined 'self.force', and it is true, then the command is unconditionally run -- does no timestamp checks.

move_file(self, src, dst, level=1)

Move a file respectin dry-run flag.

run(self)

A command's raison d'etre: carry out the action it exists to perform, controlled by the options initialized in 'initialize_options()', customized by other commands, the setup script, the command-line, and config files, and finalized in 'finalize_options()'. All terminal output and filesystem interaction should be done by 'run()'.

This method must be implemented by all command classes.

run_command(self, command)

Run some other command: uses the 'run_command()' method of Distribution, which creates and finalizes the command object if necessary and then invokes its 'run()' method.

set_undefined_options(self, src_cmd, *option_pairs)

Set the values of any "undefined" options from corresponding option values in some other command object. "Undefined" here means "is None", which is the convention used to indicate that an option has not been changed between 'initialize_options()' and 'finalize_options()'. Usually called from 'finalize_options()' for options that depend on some other command rather than another option of the same command. 'src_cmd' is the other command from which option values will be taken (a command object will be created for it if necessary); the remaining arguments are '(src_option,dst_option)' tuples which mean "take the value of 'src_option' in the 'src_cmd' command object, and copy it to 'dst_option' in the current command object".

spawn(self, cmd, search_path=1, level=1)

Spawn an external command respecting dry-run flag.