by Thomas Lotze for EuroPython 2012
zc.buildout is a tool to install and configure applications. An application may consist of multiple parts and include multiple programs and processes. Both installation and configuration of the application as a whole are controlled by a configuration file which makes it possible to reproduce them exactly at a later point in time or on a different host. zc.buildout is extensible so it may be used to install application parts with nearly arbitrary individual requirements.
The talk introduces zc.buildout, gives an overview of its possibilities as well as the major third-party extensions and demonstrates the system by means of a case study.