I have a pretty big Python package I've written, about 3500 statements, with a robust unit and acceptance test suite. I feel quite confident about the quality of the code itself, but I'm uneasy about the install process going smoothly for users of the package as I don't know how to reliably test the install in an appropriately isolated environment, short of something like keeping a spare machine around and re-imaging it with a fresh OS install for each test run.
I suspect using virtualenv in the right way might provide a proper test fixture for testing installation, but after extended web searches have uncovered no helpful guidance.
How can I effectively test my setup.py and other installation bits on my development machine?
If you really want isolation instead just doing python setup.py install in virtualenv. Then use virtualbox and install some free linux os in it. Take a snapshot of the machine after the install so you can revert easily with one click to the starting point at any time and try python setup.py install there.
How do I test the setup.py for my package?