###################################################
##                                               ##
##  STE: a Simple Test Environment               ##
##  Copyright (C) 2006 Nicolas Stroppa           ##
##  This program is distributed under the terms  ##
##  of the GNU General Public License.           ##
##                                               ##
###################################################



Description
===========

- ste is a simple test environment whose goal is to make easier the
  task of performing experiments with different sets of parameters.
- the idea of ste is _very_ simple: it creates one directory when you
  need one and associates one unique id to it. When you create such a
  directory, you have to label it with a list of keywords. Directories
  can then be addressed by those keywords.


Example
=======

  > ste mkdir param1 param2
  dir_n_1
  ## directory dir_n_1 has been created


  > ste mkdir param1 param3
  dir_n_2
  ## directory dir_n_2 has been created

  > ste mkdir param2 param3
  dir_n_3
  ## directory dir_n_3 has been created

  > ste gd param1 param3
  dir_n_2
  ## gd stands for "get directories". This command will
  ## output the names of the directories whose keywords
  ## match the given parameters

  > ste gd param1
  dir_n_1
  dir_n_2

  > ste gd param2
  dir_n_1
  dir_n_3

  > ste gd param3
  dir_n_2
  dir_n_3

  > rm -rf dir_n_2
  > ste sync_db_with_fs
  ## the directory dir_n_2 has been removed.
  ## sync_db_with_fs will delete in the database
  ## the entries that correspond to removed directories.

  > ste gd param3
  dir_n_3
  ## dir_n_2 does not exist for ste anymore.


- There is no mess anymore: you only have dir_n_* directories
  with files in them and it is easy to find the directories
  related to a set of parameters.




Dependencies
============

- In order to run ste, you will need to install:
  - python (http://www.python.org/)
  - sqlite (http://www.sqlite.org/)
  - pysqlite (http://pysqlite.sourceforge.net/)
- Packages for those tools are available for most Linux distributions.



How to install
==============

- unpack the distribution:
  > tar -zvxf ste-version.tar.gz

- the package is now in the directory ./ste-version
  Go to that directory:
  > cd ste-version

- build and install:
  > python setup.py install