Reahl installation

We recommend installing Reahl within a sandboxed Python environment provided by virtualenv. Doing this means that your main Python installation is left in the state it currently is, and that you do not need permissions of restricted users to install all the extra Python packages when developing.

The bottom line

If you are a seasoned Python developer here is the quick summary. More detailed installation instructions follow below this section.

Reahl itself is installed via pip, using extras in [] to select what you want:

pip install reahl[declarative,sqlite,dev,doc]

On platforms other than Windows, some dependencies pulled in during installation will also need to be compiled, needing:

  • Libxml, libxslt
  • Libsqlite
  • Python headers for compiling the above
  • A C/C++ compiler (such as gcc)
  • Cython

Read on for detailed instructions.

Prepare your platform for Python development

Before you can install Reahl itself, you need to install several pieces of software on your platform (including Python and several Python development tools like virtualenv). This differs from platform to platform – please follow the instructions for your platform:

Create a virtualenv and install Reahl inside it

If you followed the instructions above, virtualenv should have been installed along with other required packages. You need to now create a virtual environment using virtualenv.

On Linux or Mac, do:

virtualenv ./reahl_env

Note

If you have more than one version of Python installed, also pass the -p argument to virtualenv, specifying the path to the Python interpreter you want this virtualenv for.

On Windows, do (in a command shell):

virtualenv reahl_env

This creates a new directory reahl_env with an isolated Python environment inside it.

In order to work inside that isolated environment, you need to execute the following on the command line:

On Linux or Mac:

source ./reahl_env/bin/activate

On Windows:

reahl_env\Scripts\activate.bat

After activating your new environment, the prompt of the command line changes to reflect the environment that is currently active.

With your virtualenv activated, Reahl can be installed into it by issuing (regardless of platform):

pip install reahl[declarative,sqlite,dev,doc]

Note

Some of Reahl’s dependencies are distributed in binary form for Windows. These have to be installed using the wheel format when using pip, so do ensure that you are using a version of Pip > 6.

This may run a while, as it installs all of the projects Reahl depends on as well. Some of these dependencies are installed and built from source (on platforms other than windows), hence, this process needs your platform to be prepared properly for Python development before you attempt to install Reahl.

Choose what to install

Reahl is composed of a number of different components that you can mix and match depending on your requirements. For example, you probably do not want the development tools in a production environment, so they are packaged in a component you can omit.

In order to specify which sets of components you want installed, you use keywords in square brackets behind reahl in the command to pip as shown above. Here is a list of keywords you can include, and what they install:

declarative
The declarative implementation of the web framework
dev
The development tools
doc
Documentation and examples
sqlite
Support for sqlite databases
postgresql
Support for postgresql databases