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Core Problem

The pandas team is transitioning to a new build system, meson, which addresses issues with the current setuptools-based build system. This change aims to improve the build process and simplify code maintenance.

Solution & Analysis

To get started with meson builds in pandas, follow these steps:

Step 1: Create a Conda Environment

# Create a new conda environment or update an existing one
conda env create --file=environment.yml

Step 2: Install Dependencies

# Install the oldest-supported-numpy version (required for no-build-isolation mode)
pip install oldest-supported-numpy>=0.10

Step 3: Build the Project with Meson

# Install the project using meson
pip install . -ve --no-build-isolation --config-settings="builddir=builddir"

Optional:

  • For debugging: 
    # Install the project with debug settings
pip install . -ve --no-build-isolation --config-settings builddir="builddir" --config-settings setup-args="-Dbuildtype=debug"

Step 4: Test the Project

# Run tests using pytest
pytest pandas

Note: If you built pandas in editable mode, you don't need to rebuild the C extensions every time you change a C/Cython file. It will now be automatically rebuilt on import.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can get started with meson builds in pandas and take advantage of improved build performance and simplified code maintenance.

Reference