diff --git a/source/key_projects.rst b/source/key_projects.rst index a1c2cac7b..fa34680c6 100644 --- a/source/key_projects.rst +++ b/source/key_projects.rst @@ -379,26 +379,31 @@ conda :doc:`Docs ` -conda is the package management tool for `Anaconda -`__ Python installations. -Anaconda Python is a distribution from `Anaconda, Inc +conda is a package, dependency, and environment management system for any language — Python, R, +Ruby, C/C++, Fortran, and more. It is written in Python and +widely used in the Python scientific computing community, due to its support for non-Python +compiled libraries and extensions. It is used as the basis of the `Anaconda +`__ Python distribution from `Anaconda, Inc. `__ specifically aimed at the scientific -community, and in particular on Windows where the installation of binary -extensions is often difficult. +community, but can also be used on its own, or with the +:doc:`miniconda ` distribution. It is available +for Windows, Mac and Linux systems. Conda is a completely separate tool from :ref:`pip`, virtualenv and wheel, but provides -many of their combined features in terms of package management, virtual environment -management and deployment of binary extensions. - -Conda does not install packages from PyPI and can install only from -the official Anaconda repositories, or anaconda.org (a place for -user-contributed *conda* packages), or a local (e.g. intranet) package -server. However, note that :ref:`pip` can be installed into, and work -side-by-side with conda for managing :term:`distributions -` from PyPI. Also, `conda skeleton -`__ -is a tool to make Python packages installable by conda by first -fetching them from PyPI and modifying their metadata. +many of their combined features, such as package management, virtual environment +management and deployment of binary extensions and other binary code. + +Conda does not install packages from PyPI -- it can only manage packages built specifically +for conda, which can be made available on a "conda channel", such as those hosted on +`anaconda.org `_ or a local (e.g. intranet) package server. In addition +to the "default" channels managed by `Anaconda, Inc `_, there are +a wide variety of packages from the community supported +`conda-forge project `__ + +Note that :ref:`pip` can be installed into, and work side-by-side with conda +for managing :term:`distributions ` from PyPI. It is also possible +to build conda packages from Python source packages using tools provided by conda. + .. _devpi: