.. -*- mode: rst -*-
.. ex: set sts=4 ts=4 sw=4 et tw=79:


Pie ... what?
=============

PyMVPA is a Python_ module intended to ease pattern classification
analyses of large datasets. It provides high-level abstraction of typical
processing steps and a number of implementations of some popular algorithms.
While it is not limited to neuroimaging data it is eminently suited for such
datasets. PyMVPA is truely free software (in every respect) and additonally
requires nothing but free-software to run.

.. _Python: http://www.python.org

PyMVPA stands for **M**\ ulti\ **V**\ ariate **P**\ attern **A**\ nalysis
in **Py**\ thon.

PyMVPA is developed inside the `Debian Experimental Psychology Project`_. This
website, the source code repository and download services are hosted on 
Alioth_, a service that is kindly provided by the `Debian project`_.

.. _Debian Experimental Psychology Project: http://pkg-exppsy.alioth.debian.org
.. _Alioth: http://alioth.debian.org
.. _Debian project: http://www.debian.org



Documentation
=============

* :ref:`User Documentation <contents>` (**the** documentation)
* :ref:`Development Changelog <changelog>` (see what has changed)
* :ref:`Developer Guidelines <devguide>` (information for people contributing
  code)
* `API Reference`_ (comprehensive and up-to-date information about the details
  of the implementation)
* :ref:`genindex` (access by keywords)
* :ref:`search` (online and offline full-text search)

.. _API Reference: api/index.html

* `PyMVPA Manual (PDF)`_ (all documentation except for developer guidelines
  and API reference)
* `Developer Guidelines (PDF)`_

.. _PyMVPA Manual (PDF): PyMVPA-Manual.pdf
.. _Developer Guidelines (PDF): PyMVPA-DevGuide.pdf


License
=======

PyMVPA is free-software (beer and speech) and covered by the `MIT License`_.
This applies to all source code, documentation, examples and snippets inside
the source distribution (including this website). Please see the
:ref:`appendix of the manual <license>` for the copyright statement and the
full text of the license.

.. _MIT License: http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php
.. _appendix of the manual: manual.html#license



Download
========

Binary packages
---------------

Binary packages are available for:

* Debian and Ubuntu (:ref:`installation instructions <install_debian>`)
    PyMVPA is an `official Debian package`_ (`python-mvpa`).
    Additionally backports for some Debian and Ubuntu releases are also
    available. Please read the `package repository instructions`_ to learn
    about how to obtain them.

* Windows (:ref:`installation instructions <install_win>`)
    An installer for Python 2.5 is available from the `file release system`_.

* OpenSUSE (:ref:`installation instructions <install_suse>`)
   Initial version of a binary RPM package, built for OpenSUSE_ 10.3.

Currently, there are no binary packages for other operating systems. However,
we know that PyMVPA successfully builds on recent RedHat_ releases, as well as
MacOS X (see below for instructions).

.. _official Debian package: http://packages.debian.org/python-mvpa
.. _package repository instructions: http://apsy.gse.uni-magdeburg.de/main/index.psp?sec=1&page=hanke/debian&lang=en

.. _RedHat: http://www.redhat.com
.. _OpenSUSE: http://www.opensuse.org/


Source code
-----------

Source code tarballs of PyMVPA releases are available from the `file release
system`_. Alternatively, one can also download a tarball of the latest
development snapshot_ (i.e. the current state of the *master* branch of the
PyMVPA source code repository).

To get access to both the full PyMVPA history and the latest
development code, the PyMVPA Git_ repository is publicly available. To view the
repository, please point your webbrowser to gitweb:
http://git.debian.org/?p=pkg-exppsy/pymvpa.git

To clone (aka checkout) the PyMVPA repository simply do:

::

  git clone git://git.debian.org/git/pkg-exppsy/pymvpa.git

After a short while you will have a `pymvpa` directory below your current
working directory, that contains the PyMVPA repository.

More detailed instructions on :ref:`installation requirements <requirements>`
and on how to :ref:`build PyMVPA from source <buildfromsource>` are provided
in the manual.


.. _file release system: http://alioth.debian.org/frs/?group_id=30954
.. _Git: http://git.or.cz/
.. _snapshot:  http://git.debian.org/?p=pkg-exppsy/pymvpa.git;a=snapshot;h=refs/heads/master;sf=tgz


Support
=======

If you have problems installing the software or questions about usage,
documentation or something else related to PyMVPA, you can post to the PyMVPA
mailing list (prefered) or contact the authors on IRC:

:Mailing list: pkg-exppsy-pymvpa@lists.alioth.debian.org [subscription_, archive_]
:IRC: #exppsy on OTFC/Freenode

All users should subscribe to the mailing list. PyMVPA is still a young project
that is under heavy development. Significant modifications (hopefully
improvements) are very likely to happen frequently. The mailing list is the
prefered way to announce such changes.

.. _subscription: http://lists.alioth.debian.org/mailman/listinfo/pkg-exppsy-pymvpa
.. _archive: http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/pkg-exppsy-pymvpa/



Publications
============

The PyMVPA toolbox was first presented with a poster_ at annual meeting of the
*German Society for Psychophysiology and its Application* in Magdeburg_,
2008.

.. _poster: http://pkg-exppsy.alioth.debian.org/pymvpa/files/PyMVPA_PuG2008.pdf
.. _Magdeburg: http://www.magdeburg.de/


Authors
=======

The PyMVPA developers team currently consists of:

* `Michael Hanke`_, University of Magdeburg, Germany
* `Yaroslav O. Halchenko`_, Rutgers University Newark, USA
* `Per B. Sederberg`_, Princeton University, USA
* `Emanuele Olivetti`_, University of Trento, Italy

.. _Michael Hanke: http://apsy.gse.uni-magdeburg.de/hanke
.. _Yaroslav O. Halchenko: http://www.onerussian.com
.. _Per B. Sederberg: http://www.princeton.edu/~persed/
.. _Emanuele Olivetti: http://sra.itc.it/people/olivetti/
