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+.. _paste_chapter:
+
+PasteDeploy Configuration Files
+===============================
+
+Packages generated via a :term:`scaffold` make use of a system created by Ian
+Bicking named :term:`PasteDeploy`.  PasteDeploy defines a way to declare
+:term:`WSGI` application configuration in an ``.ini`` file.
+
+Pyramid uses this configuration file format as input to its :term:`WSGI` server
+runner ``pserve``, as well as other commands such as ``pviews``, ``pshell``,
+``proutes``, and ``ptweens``.
+
+PasteDeploy is not a particularly integral part of Pyramid.  It's possible to
+create a Pyramid application which does not use PasteDeploy at all.  We show a
+Pyramid application that doesn't use PasteDeploy in :ref:`firstapp_chapter`.
+However, all Pyramid scaffolds render PasteDeploy configuration files, to
+provide new developers with a standardized way of setting deployment values,
+and to provide new users with a standardized way of starting, stopping, and
+debugging an application.
+
+This chapter is not a replacement for documentation about PasteDeploy; it only
+contextualizes the use of PasteDeploy within Pyramid.  For detailed
+documentation, see http://pythonpaste.org/deploy/.
+
+PasteDeploy
+-----------
+
+:term:`PasteDeploy` is the system that Pyramid uses to allow :term:`deployment
+settings` to be specified using an ``.ini`` configuration file format.  It also
+allows the ``pserve`` command to work.  Its configuration format provides a
+convenient place to define application :term:`deployment settings` and WSGI
+server settings, and its server runner allows you to stop and start a Pyramid
+application easily.
+
+.. _pastedeploy_entry_points:
+
+Entry Points and PasteDeploy ``.ini`` Files
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+In the :ref:`project_narr` chapter, we breezed over the meaning of a
+configuration line in the ``deployment.ini`` file.  This was the ``use =
+egg:MyProject`` line in the ``[app:main]`` section.  We breezed over it because
+it's pretty confusing and "too much information" for an introduction to the
+system.  We'll try to give it a bit of attention here.  Let's see the config
+file again:
+
+.. literalinclude:: MyProject/development.ini
+   :language: ini
+   :linenos:
+
+The line in ``[app:main]`` above that says ``use = egg:MyProject`` is actually
+shorthand for a longer spelling: ``use = egg:MyProject#main``.  The ``#main``
+part is omitted for brevity, as ``#main`` is a default defined by PasteDeploy.
+``egg:MyProject#main`` is a string which has meaning to PasteDeploy.  It points
+at a :term:`setuptools` :term:`entry point` named ``main`` defined in the
+``MyProject`` project.
+
+Take a look at the generated ``setup.py`` file for this project.
+
+.. literalinclude:: MyProject/setup.py
+   :language: python
+   :linenos:
+
+Note that ``entry_points`` is assigned a string which looks a lot like an
+``.ini`` file.  This string representation of an ``.ini`` file has a section
+named ``[paste.app_factory]``.  Within this section, there is a key named
+``main`` (the entry point name) which has a value ``myproject:main``.  The
+*key* ``main`` is what our ``egg:MyProject#main`` value of the ``use`` section
+in our config file is pointing at, although it is actually shortened to
+``egg:MyProject`` there.  The value represents a :term:`dotted Python name`
+path, which refers to a callable in our ``myproject`` package's ``__init__.py``
+module.
+
+The ``egg:`` prefix in ``egg:MyProject`` indicates that this is an entry point
+*URI* specifier, where the "scheme" is "egg".  An "egg" is created when you run
+``setup.py install`` or ``setup.py develop`` within your project.
+
+In English, this entry point can thus be referred to as a "PasteDeploy
+application factory in the ``MyProject`` project which has the entry point
+named ``main`` where the entry point refers to a ``main`` function in the
+``mypackage`` module".  Indeed, if you open up the ``__init__.py`` module
+generated within any scaffold-generated package, you'll see a ``main``
+function.  This is the function called by :term:`PasteDeploy` when the
+``pserve`` command is invoked against our application.  It accepts a global
+configuration object and *returns* an instance of our application.
+
+.. _defaults_section_of_pastedeploy_file:
+
+``[DEFAULT]`` Section of a PasteDeploy ``.ini`` File
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+You can add a ``[DEFAULT]`` section to your PasteDeploy ``.ini`` file.  Such a
+section should consist of global parameters that are shared by all the
+applications, servers, and :term:`middleware` defined within the configuration
+file.  The values in a ``[DEFAULT]`` section will be passed to your
+application's ``main`` function as ``global_config`` (see the reference to the
+``main`` function in :ref:`init_py`).