GH-107987: Remove the Distributing Python Modules guide (#108016)

1 files changed, 10 insertions, 165 deletions

diff --git a/Doc/distributing/index.rst b/Doc/distributing/index.rst
index d237f8f..2430564 100644
--- a/Doc/distributing/index.rst
+++ b/Doc/distributing/index.rst
@@ -1,174 +1,19 @@
+:orphan:
+
+.. This page is retained solely for existing links to /distributing/index.html.
+   Direct readers to the PPUG instead.
+
 .. _distributing-index:
 
 ###############################
   Distributing Python Modules
 ###############################
 
-:Email: distutils-sig@python.org
-
-
-As a popular open source development project, Python has an active
-supporting community of contributors and users that also make their software
-available for other Python developers to use under open source license terms.
-
-This allows Python users to share and collaborate effectively, benefiting
-from the solutions others have already created to common (and sometimes
-even rare!) problems, as well as potentially contributing their own
-solutions to the common pool.
-
-This guide covers the distribution part of the process. For a guide to
-installing other Python projects, refer to the
-:ref:`installation guide <installing-index>`.
-
 .. note::
 
-   For corporate and other institutional users, be aware that many
-   organisations have their own policies around using and contributing to
-   open source software. Please take such policies into account when making
-   use of the distribution and installation tools provided with Python.
-
-
-Key terms
-=========
-
-* the `Python Package Index <https://pypi.org>`__ is a public
-  repository of open source licensed packages made available for use by
-  other Python users
-* the `Python Packaging Authority
-  <https://www.pypa.io/>`__ are the group of
-  developers and documentation authors responsible for the maintenance and
-  evolution of the standard packaging tools and the associated metadata and
-  file format standards. They maintain a variety of tools, documentation
-  and issue trackers on `GitHub <https://github.com/pypa>`__.
-* ``distutils`` is the original build and distribution system first added
-  to the Python standard library in 1998. While direct use of ``distutils``
-  is being phased out, it still laid the foundation for the current packaging
-  and distribution infrastructure, and it not only remains part of the
-  standard library, but its name lives on in other ways (such as the name
-  of the mailing list used to coordinate Python packaging standards
-  development).
-* `setuptools`_ is a (largely) drop-in replacement for ``distutils`` first
-  published in 2004. Its most notable addition over the unmodified
-  ``distutils`` tools was the ability to declare dependencies on other
-  packages. It is currently recommended as a more regularly updated
-  alternative to ``distutils`` that offers consistent support for more
-  recent packaging standards across a wide range of Python versions.
-* `wheel`_ (in this context) is a project that adds the ``bdist_wheel``
-  command to ``distutils``/`setuptools`_. This produces a cross platform
-  binary packaging format (called "wheels" or "wheel files" and defined in
-  :pep:`427`) that allows Python libraries, even those including binary
-  extensions, to be installed on a system without needing to be built
-  locally.
-
-.. _setuptools: https://setuptools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
-.. _wheel: https://wheel.readthedocs.io/
-
-Open source licensing and collaboration
-=======================================
-
-In most parts of the world, software is automatically covered by copyright.
-This means that other developers require explicit permission to copy, use,
-modify and redistribute the software.
-
-Open source licensing is a way of explicitly granting such permission in a
-relatively consistent way, allowing developers to share and collaborate
-efficiently by making common solutions to various problems freely available.
-This leaves many developers free to spend more time focusing on the problems
-that are relatively unique to their specific situation.
-
-The distribution tools provided with Python are designed to make it
-reasonably straightforward for developers to make their own contributions
-back to that common pool of software if they choose to do so.
-
-The same distribution tools can also be used to distribute software within
-an organisation, regardless of whether that software is published as open
-source software or not.
-
-
-Installing the tools
-====================
-
-The standard library does not include build tools that support modern
-Python packaging standards, as the core development team has found that it
-is important to have standard tools that work consistently, even on older
-versions of Python.
-
-The currently recommended build and distribution tools can be installed
-by invoking the ``pip`` module at the command line::
-
-    python -m pip install setuptools wheel twine
-
-.. note::
-
-   For POSIX users (including macOS and Linux users), these instructions
-   assume the use of a :term:`virtual environment`.
-
-   For Windows users, these instructions assume that the option to
-   adjust the system PATH environment variable was selected when installing
-   Python.
-
-The Python Packaging User Guide includes more details on the `currently
-recommended tools`_.
-
-.. _currently recommended tools: https://packaging.python.org/guides/tool-recommendations/#packaging-tool-recommendations
-
-.. index::
-   single: Python Package Index (PyPI)
-   single: PyPI; (see Python Package Index (PyPI))
-
-.. _publishing-python-packages:
-
-Reading the Python Packaging User Guide
-=======================================
-
-The Python Packaging User Guide covers the various key steps and elements
-involved in creating and publishing a project:
-
-* `Project structure`_
-* `Building and packaging the project`_
-* `Uploading the project to the Python Package Index`_
-* `The .pypirc file`_
-
-.. _Project structure: https://packaging.python.org/tutorials/packaging-projects/#packaging-python-projects
-.. _Building and packaging the project: https://packaging.python.org/tutorials/packaging-projects/#creating-the-package-files
-.. _Uploading the project to the Python Package Index: https://packaging.python.org/tutorials/packaging-projects/#uploading-the-distribution-archives
-.. _The .pypirc file: https://packaging.python.org/specifications/pypirc/
-
-
-How do I...?
-============
-
-These are quick answers or links for some common tasks.
-
-... choose a name for my project?
----------------------------------
-
-This isn't an easy topic, but here are a few tips:
-
-* check the Python Package Index to see if the name is already in use
-* check popular hosting sites like GitHub, Bitbucket, etc to see if there
-  is already a project with that name
-* check what comes up in a web search for the name you're considering
-* avoid particularly common words, especially ones with multiple meanings,
-  as they can make it difficult for users to find your software when
-  searching for it
-
-
-... create and distribute binary extensions?
---------------------------------------------
-
-This is actually quite a complex topic, with a variety of alternatives
-available depending on exactly what you're aiming to achieve. See the
-Python Packaging User Guide for more information and recommendations.
-
-.. seealso::
-
-   `Python Packaging User Guide: Binary Extensions
-   <https://packaging.python.org/guides/packaging-binary-extensions/>`__
-
-.. other topics:
+   Information and guidance on distributing Python modules and packages
+   has been moved to the `Python Packaging User Guide`_,
+   and the tutorial on `packaging Python projects`_.
 
-   Once the Development & Deployment part of PPUG is fleshed out, some of
-   those sections should be linked from new questions here (most notably,
-   we should have a question about avoiding depending on PyPI that links to
-   https://packaging.python.org/en/latest/mirrors/)
+   .. _Python Packaging User Guide: https://packaging.python.org/
+   .. _packaging Python projects: https://packaging.python.org/en/latest/tutorials/packaging-projects/