BUG: #6175 removed assert_  statements 
we need to update and/or create a new section to enumerate the methods that should be used for testing going forward

https://github.com/pydata/pandas/wiki/Testing

can u write up something ? (u might be able to directly edit this page but not sure)
 It looks like I should be able to edit the testing wiki. There is an open issue for improving test coverage, and as part of that we are talking about documenting testing practices and cases (#6251).

I will take a look at starting a new section. Though the most helpful resource at this point is likely docs.python.com, as testing.TestCase doesn't contain many specific methods. Though, I have a feeling that will change as we get rid of the assert_ statements.
 Which version of Python are tests expected to run on?
 all that Travis tests 
 @KTAtkinson 
Python 2.6, 2.7, 3.2 and 3.3
 @KTAtkinson did you incorporate this PR elsewhere? close this one? or rebase
 @jreback I will rebase. I am currently trying to figure out how to get python 1.6 working on my machine, with all the necessary deps.
 1.6 would be hard! assume you mean 2.6!

use a virtual env......(install python2.6 from apt-get)
 I have 2.6 installed, but I am having issues getting numpy working on 2.6. Though it works on 2.7.
 hmm....just install using pip/easy_install..
 I did. So I originally installed numpy/nose with only 2.7 installed. When I installed 2.6 numpy didn't seem to work, so I uninstalled it and re-installed to see if that would make it available in 2.6. Unfortunately it didn't.  
 @jreback Ended up using virtualenv for python. It seems to work nicely.
 gr8.....pls rebase this...I just merged in a PR which touched test_bases
 Any ideas what is the issue with the most recent failure? I don't know what the issue is with Python 2.6. I added the method assertIsInstance to the tm.TestCase, but it doesn't seem to be able to find it.

I still don't have 2.6 running on my own machine, which is also making this very hard to troubleshoot.
 @jreback Looks like The PR you submitted last night fixed all the issues with this test. I am closing this PR.
 This may be a mistake on my part, but I do not see the addition of assertIsInstance to testing.py. I see (in the "Files Changed" tab at the top of this page) changes to three files: test_base, test_categorical, and test_testing. If that is the case, 2.6 would be failing because the assertIsInstance method was added in 2.7: http://docs.python.org/2/library/unittest.html#unittest.TestCase.assertIsInstance
