[Mailman-Users] Spurious ImportError stopping the qrunner

[Barry A. Warsaw]

>>>>> "RB" == Richard Barrett <R.Barrett at ftel.co.uk> writes:

    RB> I then stumbled across a UserDict.pyc file in the
    RB> $prefix/Mailman directory; just a .pyc, no matching .py

    RB> But, I thought, UserDict.pyc resides in
    RB> /usr/local/lib/python2.2/, it being a standard library
    RB> module. That UserDict.pyc was in its proper place.

    RB> After removing the 'extra' UserDict.py from $prefix/Mailman
    RB> the qrunner started working normally.

Very very strange.  I can't think of any reason why a normally
functioning Python and/or Mailman should ever cause such a file to be
dropped in that directory.  pyc files are byte-code cache files --
they should only ever be written to the same directory that contains
the py file, and even then only when the py is newer than the pyc.

Both Python's and Mailman's installation procedure includes
byte-compiling all the py files, so there normally shouldn't be an
occasion to write a new UserDict.pyc file.  I also can't think of any
known Python bug which would account for this.

    RB> Unfortunately, I deleted rather than renamed that 'extra'
    RB> UserDict.pyc so the evidence is gone

Dang.  It would have been nice to know the modtimes on that file,
esp. in relation to your Python and Mailman installations.  Hopefully
those gremlins are now bothering some poor Perl user and you'll never
have the problem again. :)

-Barry

P.S.

    RB> I have a hitherto stable Mailman server currently running MM
    RB> 2.0.13 with Python 2.2.1, both built from source, under Suse
    RB> 7.3 (kernel 2.4.10-4GB)

    RB> When I say stable I mean the server has been running without
    RB> problems for over twelve months, handling light/medium levels
    RB> of traffic for 450 lists.

This is quite encouraging! :)