.TH UPDATE-PYTHON-MODULES 8 "18 Feb 2009"
.\" Please adjust this date whenever revising the manpage.
.SH NAME
update-python-modules \- byte-compile python modules
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B update-python-modules
.RI [ options "] [" package.public " [...]]"
.SH DESCRIPTION
The
.B update-python-modules
command is part of the
.B python-support
bundle.
.PP
.B update-python-modules
is responsible for the byte-compilation of python modules. When used in
byte-compilation mode, it will byte-compile modules references in the
files given on the command line. When used in installation mode, it will
byte-compile them once for each installed python version, and will make
them available for all of them.
.PP
At each invocation, with or without arguments,
.B update-python-modules
will check for installed python versions, and will build or remove
modules according to new or removed versions since the last time it was
run.
.SH ARGUMENTS
Arguments must be files or directories located in the
.I /usr/share/python-support
directory. Depending on their extension, they are treated differently.
.TP
.IR package .public
A file listing public modules to install for each version. These modules
must lie in
.I /usr/share/pyshared
or
.IR /usr/lib/pyshared .
.TP
.IR package .private
A file listing private modules to byte-compile for one Python version.
.TP
.IR package /
A legacy directory hierarchy of public modules. The C extensions and 
portions that change with the Python version are to be found in
.IR /usr/lib/python-support/python X.Y / package / .
.TP
.IR package.dirs
A legacy file listing directories where to find private modules.
.SH OPTIONS
.TP
.B \-h, \-\-help
Show summary of options.
.TP
.B \-v, \-\-verbose
Detail all actions while they are performed.
.TP
.B \-b, \-\-bytecompile
Only accept to work on private modules. When given this option, 
.B update-python-modules
will fail if passed references to public modules.
.TP
.B \-i, \-\-install
Only accept to work on public modules. When given this option, 
.B update-python-modules
will fail if passed references to public modules.
.TP
.B \-c, \-\-clean
Clean modules instead of installing them.
.TP
.B \-a, \-\-rebuild\-all
Rebuild all private modules. This is necessary when the default python
version was changed, for example.
\.TP
.B \-f, \-\-force\-rebuild\-all
Clean all modules (public and private), and rebuild them.
.SH FILES
.TP
.IR /usr/lib/pymodules/python X.Y /
These directories contain the byte-compiled modules for version
.RI python X.Y .
.SH SEE ALSO
/usr/share/doc/python-support/README.gz
.SH AUTHOR
Josselin Mouette <joss@debian.org>.