Checklist

• I added a descriptive title
• I searched open requests and couldn't find a duplicate

What is the idea?

To introduce features in conda-build that allow for more dynamic versioning and dependency management within the meta.yaml file, similar to the capabilities offered by pyproject.toml with setuptools-build.

Why is this needed?

Currently, meta.yaml requires manual specification of package versions and dependencies. This can be cumbersome and error-prone, especially when dealing with frequent updates. By adopting a more dynamic approach, we can streamline the packaging process and reduce the risk of inconsistencies. Additionally, pyproject.toml is becoming the preferred method for defining Python package metadata, while setup.py is considered less common and potentially less maintainable.

What should happen?

• Dynamic Versioning: Allow referencing a package attribute (e.g., ds_utils.__version__) within the meta.yaml file to automatically set the version.
• Dynamic Dependencies: Enable specifying a path to a requirements file (e.g., requirements.txt) in meta.yaml where dependencies are listed for both build and runtime environments.

Additional Context

• meta.yaml:

package:
    name: data-science-utils
    version: "1.8.0"  # Replace with "{{ ds_utils.__version__ }}" for dynamic versioning
# Additional configurations
requirements:
  host:
    - python
    - pip
    - numpy>=1.26.3
    - scipy>=1.11.4
    - pandas>=2.1.4
    - matplotlib>=3.8.4
    - seaborn>=0.12.2
    - scikit-learn>=1.2.2
    - pydotplus>=2.0.2
    - joblib>=1.2.0
    - plotly>=5.24.1 # should read all requirements from file 
  run:
    - python
    - numpy>=1.26.3
    - scipy>=1.11.4
    - pandas>=2.1.4
    - matplotlib>=3.8.4
    - seaborn>=0.12.2
    - scikit-learn>=1.2.2
    - pydotplus>=2.0.2
    - joblib>=1.2.0
    - plotly>=5.24.1 # should read all requirements from file 
# ... rest of meta.yaml

• pyproject.toml:

[project]
name = "data_science_utils"
dynamic = ["version", "dependencies"]
version = { attr = "ds_utils.__version__" }
dependencies = { file = ["requirements.txt"] }

• My build script uses a combination of shell commands and conda-build to build and upload packages for various Python versions and platforms. Build Script:

for /F "tokens=2 delims== " %%i in ('findstr /R "__version__[^=]*=" ds_utils\__init__.py') do (
    set version=%%i
)

set version=%version:"=%

for /f "delims=" %%v in ('python -c "import numpy; print(numpy.__version__)"') do (
    set numpy_version=%%v
)


if not exist .\outputdir mkdir .\outputdir

for %%v in (3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12) do (
    call conda build --python %%v data-science-utils --numpy %numpy_version% --output-folder outputdir\
)
call conda build purge

for %%v in (39 310 311 312) do (
    call conda convert -f --platform all outputdir\win-64\data-science-utils-%version%-py%%v_0.tar.bz2 -o outputdir\
)

anaconda login --username IdanMorad

for %%v in (39 310 311 312) do (
    for %%i in (linux-32 linux-64 linux-aarch64 linux-armv6l linux-armv7l linux-ppc64le osx-64 win-32 win-64) do (
        call anaconda upload outputdir/%%i/data-science-utils-%version%-py%%v_0.tar.bz2
    )
)

anaconda logout

• File Hierarchy:

DataScienceUtils
|
- data-science-utils
    |
    - bld.bat
    - build.sh
    - meta.yaml
- deploy-conda.bat
- pyproject.toml

• Repository URL: https://github.com/idanmoradarthas/DataScienceUtils
• I believe this enhancement would significantly improve the user experience and consistency for building Python packages with conda-build.