Quick install guide

Before you can use Corral, you’ll need to get it installed. We have a complete installation guide that covers all the possibilities; this guide will guide you to a simple, minimal installation that’ll work while you walk through the introduction.

Install Python

Being a Python framework, Corral requires Python. Python includes a lightweight database called SQLite so you won’t need to set up a database just yet.

Get the latest version of Python at https://www.python.org/download/ or with your operating system’s package manager.

You can verify that Python is installed by typing python from your shell; you should see something like:

Python 3.4.x
[GCC 4.x] on linux
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>>

Get your database running

If you plan to use Corral’s database API functionality, you’ll need to make sure a database server is running. Corral supports all the database servers provided by SQLAlchemy

If you are developing a simple project or something you don’t plan to deploy in a production environment, SQLite is generally the simplest option as it doesn’t require running a separate server. However, SQLite has many differences from other databases, so if you are working on something substantial, it’s recommended to develop with the same database as you plan on using in production.

In addition to a database backend, you’ll need to make sure your SqlAlchemy database bindings are installed.

Remove any old versions of Corral

If you are upgrading your installation of Corral from a previous version, you will need to uninstall the old Corral version before installing the new version.

If you installed Corral using pip or easy_install previously, installing with pip or easy_install again will automatically take care of the old version, so you don’t need to do it yourself.

If you previously installed Corral using python setup.py install, uninstalling is as simple as deleting the corral directory from your Python site-packages. To find the directory you need to remove, you can run the following at your shell prompt (not the interactive Python prompt):

$ python -c "import corral; print(corral.__path__)"

Install Corral

Installation instructions are slightly different depending on whether you’re installing a distribution-specific package, downloading the latest official release, or fetching the latest development version.

It’s easy, no matter which way you choose.

Installing an official release with pip

This is the recommended way to install Corral.

  1. Install pip. The easiest is to use the standalone pip installer. If your distribution already has pip installed, you might need to update it if it’s outdated. If it’s outdated, you’ll know because installation won’t work. If you’re using an old version of setuptools, you might see some harmless SyntaxErrors also.
  2. Take a look at virtualenv and virtualenvwrapper. These tools provide isolated Python environments, which are more practical than installing packages systemwide. They also allow installing packages without administrator privileges.
  3. After you’ve created and activated a virtual environment, enter the command pip install -U corral-pipeline at the shell prompt.

Installing the development version

If you’d like to be able to update your corral code occasionally with the latest bug fixes and improvements, follow these instructions:

  1. Make sure that you have Git installed and that you can run its commands from a shell. (Enter git help at a shell prompt to test this.)

  2. Check out Corral’s main development branch like so:

    $ git clone git@github.com:toros-astro/corral.git

    This will create a directory corral in your current directory.

  3. Make sure that the Python interpreter can load Corral’s code. The most convenient way to do this is to use virtualenv, virtualenvwrapper, and pip.

  4. After setting up and activating the virtualenv, run the following command:

    $ pip install -e corral/

    This will make Corral’s code importable, and will also make the corral utility command available. In other words, you’re all set!

When you want to update your copy of the Corral source code, just run the command git pull from within the corral directory. When you do this, Git will automatically download any changes.