Python 2.x

Python 2.x & Cobalt Linux

This article is about installing/upgrading Python on a Sun/Cobalt Qube. For more about my Qube, check out this Wiki article, My Qube and use the search facility at my blog's technology category.

I downloaded Python 2.4.http://www.python.org. I ran a configure with a -prefix flag; I don't want to stop utilitites that require Python 1.5 currently installled from working.

The make fails because the tcl/tk libraries are too old. Active State's version of TCL will not compile and install because the C libraries are too old. Time for a think. Interesting that the configure does not perform this test. Very Interesting. See my comments on planet. This may be a planet problem not a python problem since planet still fails to run using Python 2.4 because bsddb is missing. The requirement for bsd-db is stated on the planetplanet web site.

Fortunately, I have a friend who made his Python 2.4 (and planet) up awhile ago and has an installation directory. He had set the install to /usr/local/bin, so "make install" and we're away.

Now in order to run a python script using 2.4, I need to ensure that /usr/local/bin is before /usr/bin in the ${PATH} list.

The current version of Python is 2.4.3. 29th July 2006 . I have downloaded it and checked the configure parameters. I shall use a -prefix parameter to force version co-existence. Perhaps /opt/sfw/python? Nothing Linux will use that directory structure. Two other parameters that may require exploring are -disable-FEATURE and -disable-PACKAGE. Both these parameters are supplemented by examples so this may not be part of the problem or answer.

I have repeated the Python make and get the following error.

building '_tkinter' extension
gcc -pthread -DNDEBUG -g -O3 -Wall -Wstrict-prototypes -fPIC -fno-strict-aliasing 
	-DWITH_APPINIT=1 -I/usr/X11R6/include -I. 
	-I/home/users/admin/downloads/Python-2.4/Python-2.4.3/./Include 
	-I/usr/local/include 
	-I/home/users/admin/downloads/Python-2.4/Python-2.4.3/Include 
	-I/home/users/admin/downloads/Python-2.4/Python-2.4.3 
	-c /home/users/admin/downloads/Python-2.4/Python-2.4.3/Modules/_tkinter.c 
	-o build/temp.linux-i586-2.4/_tkinter.o
/home/users/admin/downloads/Python-2.4/Python-2.4.3/Modules/_tkinter.c:80: #error "Tk older than 8.2 not supported"
/home/users/admin/downloads/Python-2.4/Python-2.4.3/Modules/_tkinter.c:92: #error "unsupported Tcl configuration"

A bit more to do to create a corrective feedback loop.