========
Glossary
========

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.. _cloud-glossary-anaconda:

Anaconda
========

An easy-to-install, free collection of open source packages, including
Python and the conda package manager, with free community support. 
Over 150 packages are installed with Anaconda. After installing 
Anaconda, you can install or update over 250 additional open source 
packages contained in the Anaconda repository using the 
``conda install PACKAGENAME`` command.

NOTE: Replace ``PACKAGENAME`` with the name of the desired package.

.. _cloud-glossary-cloud:

Anaconda Cloud
==============

`Anaconda Cloud <http://www.anaconda.org>`_  is a 
`Continuum Analytics <http://continuum.io>`_ package management 
service. Cloud makes it easy to find, access, store 
and share public and private notebooks, environments, and conda and 
PyPI packages. Cloud also makes it easy to stay current with updates 
made to the packages and environments you are using.

Cloud hosts hundreds of useful Python packages, notebooks and 
environments for a wide variety of applications. You do not need a 
Cloud account, or to be logged in, to search for public 
packages, download and install them.

For more information, see the 
:ref:`introduction to Anaconda Cloud <cloud-introduction>`.

Anaconda Build CLI
==================

A now-deprecated command line interface (CLI) to Cloud that allowed 
users to build cross-platform packages with build workers on a cloud 
computing service.

Anaconda Client CLI
===================

The Anaconda Client command line interface (CLI) allows you to log 
into Cloud directly from your terminal window and manage your
account. It is not necessary for downloading or installing packages 
from Cloud.

Binstar
=======

Binstar was an early project name for Cloud. You may still see
the term Binstar in certain command and directory names.

.. _cloud-glossary-conda:

conda
=====

The conda package manager and environment manager program that installs
and updates packages and their dependencies, and lets you easily switch
between environments on your local computer.

conda build
===========

The command line interface that lets you build packages for your local
operating system.

conda package
=============

A compressed file containing system-level libraries, Python modules, executable 
programs or other components. The file uses the tarball format.


.. _cloud-glossary-label:

label
=====

Part of the URLs on Cloud where conda looks for packages. Labels 
are searched only if you specify a label.

The default label is ``main``, so packages that are uploaded without
specifying a label are automatically labeled ``main``. The version 
labeled ``main`` is also downloaded by default, unless a 
user specifies a different label.

So, if a file is labeled ``main``, then the label name may be omitted 
from the URL. For example, the following repositories are equivalent::

    https://anaconda.org/sean/label/main
    https://anaconda.org/sean

Commands such as ``conda install`` can be used with a channel or used
with a channel and a label::

    conda install --channel sean selenium
    conda install --channel sean/label/dev selenium
    conda install --channel sean/label/stable selenium

Miniconda
=========

A minimal installer for :ref:`cloud-glossary-conda`. Like 
:ref:`cloud-glossary-anaconda`, Miniconda 
is a software package that includes the conda package manager 
and Python and its dependencies. However, Miniconda does not include any other 
packages. Once conda is installed by installing either Anaconda 
or Miniconda, you can install other software packages directly 
from the command line using ``conda install``.

.. _cloud-glossary-namespace:

namespace
=========

Each user and organization has their own location called a 
"namespace" where they may host packages. You can view the public
packages in a user or organization's namespace by navigating to their
user page.

EXAMPLE: The ``travis`` user namespace located at 
``https://anaconda.org/travis`` contains packages that were
uploaded and shared by the user whose account is named ``travis``.

noarch package
==============

A conda package that contains nothing specific to any system 
architecture, so it may be installed on any system. When conda 
searches for packages on any system in a channel, conda always 
checks both the system-specific subdirectory, for example, 
``linux-64`` and the ``noarch`` directory.

on-site repository
==================

Cloud is powered by Anaconda Repository by Continuum Analytics. 
You can run your own private repository behind firewalls or in 
air-gapped environments. For more information, 
contact `sales@continuum.io <mailto:sales@continuum.io>`_.

organization account
====================

An organization account is a type of account on Cloud that
allows multiple individual users to administer packages and control
package access to different user groups. It also includes a large amount
of storage space.

.. _cloud-glossary-package:

package
=======

All files uploaded to Cloud are stored in packages. Each Cloud 
package is visible at its own unique URL based on the name of 
the user who owns the package and the name of the package.

For example, if a user ``travis`` uploads a test package named 
``testpkg``, it is visible at::

    https://anaconda.org/travis/testpkg 

Cloud packages may contain multiple files, and these files may 
be data files such as comma separated value (CSV), tab separated 
value (TSV), or text (TXT), or package files such as conda packages, 
PyPI packages or R packages.

NOTE: All packages are public if uploaded by users of free accounts.
Packages may be designated as private by upgrading to a paid account.

package manager
===============

A package manager is a tool that facilitates the process of installing, 
upgrading, configuring and removing packages, including the packages on Cloud. 
Cloud supports two package managers, :ref:`conda <cloud-conda-packages>` and
:ref:`PyPI <cloud-pypi-packages>`.

For more information, see 
:ref:`using package managers <cloud-packages-managers>`.

repository
==========

A storage location from which software packages may be retrieved and
installed on a computer.

source package
==============

"Source" packages are source code only, not yet built for any specific
platform, and might be compatible with all, some or only one of the
platforms.

.. _cloud-glossary-token:

token
=====

A token--or authentication token--is the mechanism by which anonymous
users can download private packages without using a Cloud account. 
It is an alpha-numeric code that is inserted into a URL that allows 
access by anyone who has the URL. You can use Client to generate 
new tokens to give other users specifically scoped access to
packages and collections.
