merge 0.18.x branch back into master

Cython/Shadow.py

 # cython.* namespace for pure mode.
-__version__ = "0.18-pre"
+__version__ = "0.18b1"
 
-# Shamelessly copied from Cython/minivect/minitypes.py
+
+# BEGIN shameless copy from Cython/minivect/minitypes.py
 
 class _ArrayType(object):
 
@@ -26,6 +27,7 @@ class _ArrayType(object):
 
         return "%s[%s]" % (self.dtype, ", ".join(axes))
 
+
 def index_type(base_type, item):
     """
     Support array type creation by slicing, e.g. double[:, :] specifies
@@ -34,9 +36,12 @@ def index_type(base_type, item):
     """
     assert isinstance(item, (tuple, slice))
 
+    class InvalidTypeSpecification(Exception):
+        pass
+
     def verify_slice(s):
         if s.start or s.stop or s.step not in (None, 1):
-            raise minierror.InvalidTypeSpecification(
+            raise InvalidTypeSpecification(
                 "Only a step of 1 may be provided to indicate C or "
                 "Fortran contiguity")
 
@@ -45,7 +50,7 @@ def index_type(base_type, item):
         for idx, s in enumerate(item):
             verify_slice(s)
             if s.step and (step_idx or idx not in (0, len(item) - 1)):
-                raise minierror.InvalidTypeSpecification(
+                raise InvalidTypeSpecification(
                     "Step may only be provided once, and only in the "
                     "first or last dimension.")
 
@@ -61,6 +66,7 @@ def index_type(base_type, item):
 
 # END shameless copy
 
+
 compiled = False
 
 _Unspecified = object()