accelerator-toolbox 0.0.4

Accelerator Toolbox

pyAT is a Python interface to the pass methods defined in Accelerator Toolbox, implemented by compiling the C code used in the AT ‘integrators’ plus a Python extension.

It supports Python 2.7 (deprecated) and 3.5 to 3.8.

For some examples of how to use pyAT, see pyat_examples.rst.

Installation preparation (Windows)

Download Microsoft Visual C++ Compiler for Python 2.7 (here), and use the Visual C++ Command Prompt of the correct architecture to build pyat.

For newer versions of Python you need the appropriate version of Visual C++.

Installation (all platforms)

All the binaries should be built when building the Python extension.

It is easiest to do this using a virtualenv. inside pyat:

We recommend using Python 3. If you are still using Python 2, you need virtualenv installed:

• virtualenv --no-site-packages venv

If you are using Python 3, you can use the built-in venv module:

• python3 -m venv venv

Then:

• source venv/bin/activate # or venv\Scripts\activate on Windows

• pip install -r requirements.txt

• pip install -e .

Finally, you should be able to run the tests:

• python -m pytest test

Comparing results with Matlab

There is a second set of tests that require a Matlab licence and allows comparing results directly with a Matlab session. See test_matlab/README for information.

Debugging

Print statements in the C code will work once the integrators are recompiled. To force recompilation, remove the build directory:

• rm -rf build

Any changes to .py files are automatically reinstalled in the build, but to ensure any changes to .c files are reinstalled rerun:

• python setup.py develop

If you get strange behaviour even after running setup.py develop again, then running the following, inside pyat, should fix it:

• rm -rf build

• find at -name "*.pyc" -exec rm '{}' \;

• find at -name "*.so" -exec rm '{}' \;

• python setup.py develop

N.B. setup.py develop needs to be run with the same version of Python (and numpy) that you are using to run pyAT.

Releasing a version to PyPI

Because pyAT compiles C code, releasing a version is not simple. The code must be compiled for different operating systems and Python versions.

To do this, we use the continuous integration services Travis CI (for Linux and Mac) and Appveyor (for Windows). When a tag of the form pyat-x.y.z is pushed to Github, wheels for each of the different platforms will be built and automatically uploaded to https://test.pypi.org/project/accelerator-toolbox/. Once there, someone should manually test that the wheels are working correctly, then they can manually download the files and upload them to PyPI itself.

For Travis to be authenticated to Test PyPI, someone must set the variables TWINE_USERNAME and TWINE_PASSWORD in the Travis CI project settings. These are not public so it is possible to use personal details; it may be best not to use the same password for PyPI.

A similar process is necessary for the Appveyor settings. You can click the little lock to keep the variable values private.

Because there are complications putting special characters into these environment variables it may be simpler to ensure your Test PyPI password contains only alphanumeric characters.