What are wheels?

Wheels are the new standard of Python distribution and are intended to replace eggs. Support is offered in pip >= 1.4 and setuptools >= 0.8.

Advantages of wheels

• Faster installation for pure Python and native C extension packages.
• Avoids arbitrary code execution for installation. (Avoids setup.py)
• Installation of a C extension does not require a compiler on Windows or macOS.
• Allows better caching for testing and continuous integration.
• Creates .pyc files as part of installation to ensure they match the Python interpreter used.
• More consistent installs across platforms and machines

Nix is a purely functional package manager. It allows multiple versions of a package to be installed side-by-side, ensures that dependency specifications are complete, supports atomic upgrades and rollbacks, allows non-root users to install software, and has many other features. It is the basis of the NixOS Linux distribution, but it can be used equally well under other Unix systems.