CentOS 5.3 vs. Python 2.5

[John Nagle]

My dedicated hosting provider wants to switch me to a new server with
CentOS 5.3, so I have to look at how much work is required.

CentOS 5.3 apparently still ships with Python 2.4. Worse, it
requires Python 2.4 for its own internal purposes, and actually
installing Python 2.5 breaks the package manager. There's
no supported RPM for upgrading.

It's apparently necessary to build Python 2.5 from source,
build all the packages, and debug. Nor does that "just work".
There's documentation, but some of it is in Japanese.

http://blog.bashton.com/2008/python-25-rpms-for-rhel-5-centos-5/

Google Translate gives me

"[...] On this entry uses the src.rpm. Kitara dropped, rpmbuild-rebuild
(rpm-rebuild, but often seen the entry, it says, there's this option only old
rpm) [...]"

I'm trying to figure that out.

John Nagle

 

[Steven D'Aprano]

My dedicated hosting provider wants to switch me to a new server with
CentOS 5.3, so I have to look at how much work is required.

CentOS 5.3 apparently still ships with Python 2.4. Worse, it
requires Python 2.4 for its own internal purposes, and actually
installing Python 2.5 breaks the package manager. There's no supported
RPM for upgrading.

It's apparently necessary to build Python 2.5 from source,
build all the packages, and debug.

You shouldn't need *quite* that much effort, particularly if you don't
care about tkinter. Just use the alternate installation so it doesn't
stomp all over the 2.4 installation:

..configure
make
make altinstall

You will need root or sudo for that last one.


I don't have Centos 5.3, but I have Centos 5, and it seems to work fairly
easily for me:

$ wget http://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.5.4/Python-2.5.4.tgz
....
18:39:11 (69.6 KB/s) - `Python-2.5.4.tgz' saved [11604497/11604497]
$
$ tar xzf Python-2.5.4.tgz
$ cd Python-2.5.4
$ ./configure
....
$ make
....
$ sudo make altinstall
Password:
....
$ python -V
Python 2.4.3
$ python2.5 -V
Python 2.5.4


And it all seems to just work for me.

Nor does that "just work". There's
documentation, but some of it is in Japanese.

http://blog.bashton.com/2008/python-25-rpms-for-rhel-5-centos-5/

I don't understand why you're using documentation for third-party RPMs as
evidence that building from source will be troublesome.

 

[Jon Clements]

My dedicated hosting provider wants to switch me to a new server with
CentOS 5.3, so I have to look at how much work is required.

    CentOS 5.3 apparently still ships with Python 2.4.  Worse, it
requires Python 2.4 for its own internal purposes, and actually
installing Python 2.5 breaks the package manager.  There's no supported
RPM for upgrading.

    It's apparently necessary to build Python 2.5 from source,
build all the packages, and debug.

You shouldn't need *quite* that much effort, particularly if you don't
care about tkinter. Just use the alternate installation so it doesn't
stomp all over the 2.4 installation:

.configure
make
make altinstall

You will need root or sudo for that last one.

I don't have Centos 5.3, but I have Centos 5, and it seems to work fairly
easily for me:

$ wgethttp://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.5.4/Python-2.5.4.tgz
...
18:39:11 (69.6 KB/s) - `Python-2.5.4.tgz' saved [11604497/11604497]
$
$ tar xzf Python-2.5.4.tgz
$ cd Python-2.5.4
$ ./configure
...
$ make
...
$ sudo make altinstall
Password:
...
$ python -V
Python 2.4.3
$ python2.5 -V
Python 2.5.4

And it all seems to just work for me.

Nor does that "just work". There's
documentation, but some of it is in Japanese.

http://blog.bashton.com/2008/python-25-rpms-for-rhel-5-centos-5/

I don't understand why you're using documentation for third-party RPMs as
evidence that building from source will be troublesome.

And might I add on a box where there is no root access, but sufficient
tools (compilers etc...)

1) Compile from source
2) Set PYTHONPATH correctly for your shell
3) Set your normal path to include your Python rather than the
system's default Python
4) When installing modules (via setup.py install or easy_install)
include a "home_dir=" (I think that's right OTTOMH) to somewhere in
your home directory, and make sure step 2) complies with this.
5) Double check with "which python" to make sure it's the correct
version.

hth
Jon.

 

[Jeff McNeil]

You shouldn't need *quite* that much effort, particularly if you don't
care about tkinter. Just use the alternate installation so it doesn't
stomp all over the 2.4 installation:

.configure
make
make altinstall

You will need root or sudo for that last one.

I don't have Centos 5.3, but I have Centos 5, and it seems to work fairly
easily for me:

$ wgethttp://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.5.4/Python-2.5.4.tgz
...
18:39:11 (69.6 KB/s) - `Python-2.5.4.tgz' saved [11604497/11604497]
$
$ tar xzf Python-2.5.4.tgz
$ cd Python-2.5.4
$ ./configure
...
$ make
...
$ sudo make altinstall
Password:
...
$ python -V
Python 2.4.3
$ python2.5 -V
Python 2.5.4

And it all seems to just work for me.

I don't understand why you're using documentation for third-party RPMs as
evidence that building from source will be troublesome.

And might I add on a box where there is no root access, but sufficient
tools (compilers etc...)

1) Compile from source
2) Set PYTHONPATH correctly for your shell
3) Set your normal path to include your Python rather than the
system's default Python
4) When installing modules (via setup.py install or easy_install)
include a "home_dir=" (I think that's right OTTOMH) to somewhere in
your home directory, and make sure step 2) complies with this.
5) Double check with "which python" to make sure it's the correct
version.

hth
Jon.

I'm in a RHEL3 - RHEL5.4 environment and the situation is exactly the
same. The code I've written requires 2.5 or higher. I keep a /usr/
local/pythons directory and manually install the versions I need
there. I then use virtualenv so I don't have to worry about setting
PYTHONPATH manually or anything. I just need to remember to use the
right Python executable. I got to doing this when I discovered that
there are issues with the Cluster Manager (Lucci) and some external
Python packages (some of the Zope stuff, if I remember correctly).

So, in addition to the above steps, you'll probably also want to
include a '--prefix=.....' on the command line to the configure script
in order to install in a non-standard location.