Question

I have a module that sits in a namespace. Should tests and data the tests rely on go in the namespace or in the top level where setup.py sites?

./company/__init__.py
./company/namespace/__init__.py
./company/namespace/useful.py
./company/namespace/test_useful.py
./company/namespace/test_data/useful_data.xml
./setup.py

or

./company/__init__.py
./company/namespace/__init__.py
./company/namespace/useful.py
./test_useful.py
./test_data/useful_data.xml
./setup.py

Does the question amount to whether tests should be installed or not?

Answer 1

You should put your test module inside the module it tests according to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Packaging.

Here is their example:

TowelStuff/
    bin/
    CHANGES.txt
    docs/
    LICENSE.txt
    MANIFEST.in
    README.txt
    setup.py
    towelstuff/
        __init__.py
        location.py
        utils.py
        test/
            __init__.py
            test_location.py
            test_utils.py

This way your module will be distributed with its tests and users can use them to verify that it works with their set up.

See http://the-hitchhikers-guide-to-packaging.readthedocs.org/en/latest/creation.html.