**Biopython README file** "The Biopython Project":http://www.biopython.org/ is an international association of developers of freely available Python tools for computational molecular biology. Our website www.biopython.org provides an online resource for modules, scripts, and web links for developers of Python-based software for life science research. This is hosted by the Open Bioinformatics Foundation or O|B|F, www.open-bio.org, who also host BioPerl etc. This Biopython package is made available under generous terms. Please see the LICENSE file for further details. If you use Biopython in work contributing to a scientific publication, we ask that you cite our application note (below) or one of the module specific publications (listed on our website): Cock, P.J.A. et al. Biopython: freely available Python tools for computational molecular biology and bioinformatics. Bioinformatics 2009 Jun 1; 25(11) 1422-3 doi:10.1093/bioinformatics/btp163 pmid:19304878 **For the impatient** To build and install Biopython, download and unzip the source code, go to this directory at the command line, and type: python setup.py build python setup.py test sudo python setup.py install **System Requirements** o "Python 2.4, 2.5 or 2.6":http://www.python.org/ o "NumPy":http://numpy.scipy.org/ (optional, but strongly recommended) This package is only used in the computationally-oriented modules. It is required for Bio.Cluster, Bio.PDB and a few other modules. If you think you might need these modules, then please install NumPy first BEFORE installing Biopython. The older Numeric library is no longer supported in Biopython. o "ReportLab":http://www.reportlab.org/downloads.html (optional) This package is only used in Bio.Graphics, so if you do not need this functionality, you will not need to install this package. You can install it later if needed. o "psycopg2":http://initd.org/software/psycopg/ (optional) or "pgdb":http://www.druid.net/pygresql/ (optional) These packages are used by BioSQL to access a PostgreSQL database. o "MySQLdb":http://sourceforge.net/projects/mysql-python (optional) This package is used by BioSQL or Bio.GFF to access a MySQL database. In addition there are a number of useful third party tools you may wish to install such as standalone NCBI BLAST, EMBOSS or ClustalW. **Installation** *** Make sure that Python is installed correctly *** Installation should be as simple as going to the biopython source code directory, and typing: 'python setup.py build' 'python setup.py test' 'sudo python setup.py install' If you need to do additional configuration, e.g. changing the base directory, please type 'python setup.py', or see the documentation for Distutils. **Testing** Biopython includes a suite of regression tests to check if everything is running correctly. To do the tests, go to the biopython source code directory and type: 'python setup.py test' Do not panic if you see messages warning of skipped tests: test_DocSQL ... skipping. Install MySQLdb if you want to use Bio.DocSQL. This most likely means that a package is not installed. You can ignore this if it occurs in the tests for a module that you were not planning on using. If you did want to use that module, please install the required dependency and re-run the tests. **Bugs** While we try to ship a robust package, bugs inevitably pop up. If you are having problems that might be caused by a bug in Biopython, it is possible that it has already been identified. Search the "bug database":http://bugzilla.open-bio.org/ and mailing lists to see if it has already been reported (and hopefully fixed). If you suspect the problem lies within a parser, it is likely that the data format has changed and broken the parsing code. (The BLAST and GenBank formats seem to be particularly fragile.) Thus, the parsing code in Biopython is sometimes updated faster than we can build Biopython releases. You can get the most recent parser by pulling the relevant files (e.g. the ones in Bio.SeqIO or Bio.Blast) out of "anonymous cvs":http://cvs.biopython.org/ or our git mirror on "github":http://github.com/biopython/biopython/ . However, be careful when doing this, because the code in CVS/github is not as well-tested as released code, and may contain new dependencies. Finally, you can send a bug report to the bug database or biopython@biopython.org. In the bug report, please let us know 1) which operating system and hardware you are using, 2) Python version, 3) Biopython version (or CVS/git version/date), 4) traceback that occurs, 5) offending code, and 6) data file that causes the problem. **Contributing, Bug Reports** Biopython is run by volunteers from all over the world, with many types of backgrounds. We are always looking for people interested in helping with code development, web-site management, documentation writing, technical administration, and whatever else comes up. If you wish to contribute, please visit the "web site":http://www.biopython.org and join our "mailing list":http://biopython.org/wiki/Mailing_lists **Distribution Structure** README -- This file. NEWS -- Release notes and news LICENSE -- What you can do with the code. CONTRIB -- An (incomplete) list of people who helped Biopython in one way or another. DEPRECATED -- Contains information about modules in Biopython that are removed or no longer recommended for use, and how to update code that uses those modules. MANIFEST.in -- Tells distutils what files to distribute setup.py -- Installation file. Bio/ -- The main code base code. Martel/ -- Code for the Martel parsing system, once used in many Biopython parsers but since deprecated and no longer installed. BioSQL/ -- Code for using Biopython with BioSQL databases. Doc/ -- Documentation. Scripts/ -- Miscellaneous, possibly useful, standalone scripts Tests/ -- Regression testing code