# History

# Credits

- The original design for the `.egg` format and the `pkg_resources` API was co-created by Phillip Eby and Bob Ippolito. Bob also implemented the first version of `pkg_resources`, and supplied the macOS operating system version compatibility algorithm.

- Ian Bicking implemented many early “creature comfort” features of easy_install, including support for downloading via Sourceforge and Subversion repositories. Ian’s comments on the Web-SIG about WSGI application deployment also inspired the concept of “entry points” in eggs, and he has given talks at PyCon and elsewhere to inform and educate the community about eggs and setuptools.

- Jim Fulton contributed time and effort to build automated tests of various aspects of `easy_install`, and supplied the doctests for the command-line `.exe` wrappers on Windows.

- Phillip J. Eby is the seminal author of setuptools, and first proposed the idea of an importable binary distribution format for Python application plug-ins.

- Significant parts of the implementation of setuptools were funded by the Open Source Applications Foundation, to provide a plug-in infrastructure for the Chandler PIM application. In addition, many OSAF staffers (such as Mike “Code Bear” Taylor) contributed their time and stress as guinea pigs for the use of eggs and setuptools, even before eggs were “cool”. (Thanks, guys!)

- Tarek Ziadé is the principal author of the Distribute fork, which re-invigorated the community on the project, encouraged renewed innovation, and addressed many defects.

- Jason R. Coombs performed the merge with Distribute, maintaining the project for several years in coordination with the Python Packaging Authority (PyPA).