Add a flag to the appcfg.py to zip/upload the sources

[Sylvain]

It seems that a lot of developers would like to download their full
project (source + static).
Currently, there is no solution (even a source constrol).

For my project, I use a script like this one (with 7zip):

--- START BAT ---
7za a -tzip src\source.zip src\ -xr!*.pyc
appcfg.py update src/
--- END BAT ---

---- APP.YAML ---
- url: /source.zip
static_files: source.zip
upload: source.zip
login: admin
----------------------

But I think all this script could be added to the "appcf.py update"
layer with a flag like one "source=source.zip"

I've created a feature request :
http://code.google.com/p/googleappengine/issues/detail?id=831

Regards

[Mahmoud]

In our project, we pack the javascript and CSS and switch some flags
around before uploading the source to the server. So what gets
deployed is a bit different from what is on our SVN trunk (but we tag
it before uploading). I'm still not sure why you'd want to download
your source from GAE, if you can easily and securely check it out from
SVN.

-Mahmoud

[Sylvain]

For me I don't need it really.

But if you look at this group, how many dev lose their code because
they think they could download it again.
So download the source is an important feature even with a source
control or for a small project.

Regards.

[Peter Recore]

Even though I shudder at the thought of not using source control,
Sylvain's current solution is an elegant way of storing a backup copy
of each version of her app. It sounds like Mahmoud's group has their
own process that works for them using SVN.
I think the idea of automatically backing up a project every time you
deploy it is great. I don't think it should be part of appcfg.py
though. Everyone will have their own idea of what the ideal backup
solution is - some will want a flag to commit to SVN on every upload,
some will want to zip the files, some will want to 7zip the files,
some will want a tar.gz, and yet others will want git or CVS or
whatever. It's simple enough, as we see above (5 or 6 lines of
boilerplate) to script a solution custom tailored to each project's
needs.

-peter