Extended local dev environment instructions and added packaging as a dependency

Author: fjwillemsen

.vscode/settings.json

@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@
         "editor.formatOnType": true,
         "editor.formatOnSave": false,
         "editor.codeActionsOnSave": {
-            "source.fixAll": true,
-            "source.organizeImports": true,
+            "source.fixAll": "explicit",
+            "source.organizeImports": "explicit"
         }
     },
     "black-formatter.args": [

CONTRIBUTING.rst

@@ -51,15 +51,19 @@ Steps with :bash:`sudo` access (e.g. on a local device):
     * After installation, restart your shell. 
 #. Install the required Python versions: 
     * On some systems, additional packages may be needed to build Python versions. For example on Ubuntu: :bash:`sudo apt install build-essential zlib1g-dev libncurses5-dev libgdbm-dev libnss3-dev libssl-dev libreadline-dev libffi-dev libsqlite3-dev wget libbz2-dev liblzma-dev lzma`.
-    * Install the Python versions with: :bash:`pyenv install 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11`
-#. Setup a local virtual environment in the folder: :bash:`pyenv virtualenv kerneltuner` (or whatever environment name you prefer).
+    * Install the Python versions with: :bash:`pyenv install 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11`. The reason we're installing all these versions as opposed to just one, is so we can test against all supported Python versions.
 #. Set the Python versions so they can be found: :bash:`pyenv local 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11` (replace :bash:`local` with :bash:`global` when not using the virtualenv).
+#. Setup a local virtual environment in the folder: :bash:`pyenv virtualenv 3.11 kerneltuner` (or whatever environment name and Python version you prefer).
 #. `Install Poetry <https://python-poetry.org/docs/#installing-with-the-official-installer>`__. 
     * Use :bash:`curl -sSL https://install.python-poetry.org | python3 -` to install Poetry.
     * Make sure to add Poetry to :bash:`PATH` as instructed at the end of the installation.
     * Add the poetry export plugin with :bash:`poetry self add poetry-plugin-export`. 
 #. Make sure that non-Python dependencies are installed if applicable, such as CUDA, OpenCL or HIP. This is described in :ref:`Installation <installation>`.
-#. Re-open the shell for changes to take effect. Activate the environment with :bash:`pyenv activate kerneltuner`.
+#. Apply changes:
+    * Re-open the shell for changes to take effect. 
+    * Activate the environment with :bash:`pyenv activate kerneltuner`.
+    * Make sure :bash:`which python` and :bash:`which pip` point to the expected Python location and version. 
+    * Update Pip with :bash:`pip install --upgrade pip`.
 #. Install the project, dependencies and extras: :bash:`poetry install --with test,docs -E cuda -E opencl -E hip`, leaving out :bash:`-E cuda`, :bash:`-E opencl` or :bash:`-E hip` if this does not apply on your system. To go all-out, use :bash:`--all-extras`
     * Depending on the environment, it may be necessary or convenient to install extra packages such as :bash:`cupy-cuda11x` / :bash:`cupy-cuda12x`, and :bash:`cuda-python`. These are currently not defined as dependencies for kernel-tuner, but can be part of tests.
     * Do not forget to make sure the paths are set correctly. If you're using CUDA, the desired CUDA version should be in :bash:`$PATH`, :bash:`$LD_LIBARY_PATH` and :bash:`$CPATH`.