Troubleshooting installing Python 1.5.2 on BSDI 3.1 virtual server account

[wes]

Greetings,

Trying to get Python 1.5.2 to make and install on a BSDI 3.1-based virtual
server account at an IPP for the past two weeks and no luck! And Zope was
installed and running on my Win98 PC in less than 5 minutes! Yeow!


Currently getting the following error on BSDI 3.1:

gcc -D_HAVE_BSDI -c -g -O2 -I./../Include -I.. -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I/
./importdl.c
./importdl.c:269: mach-o/dyld.h: No such file or directory
*** Error code 1


Administrator assisted me in installing 'gmake', 'gcc', and 'install'
locally and using 'virtual sh' command but still no luck. End up with a
different error:

gmake[1]: Entering directory `/usr/local/Python-1.5.2/Python'
gcc -D_HAVE_BSDI -c -g -O2 -I./../Include -I.. -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I/
./importdl.c
/usr/libexec/cpp: Cannot fork
gmake[1]: *** [importdl.o] Error 1
gmake[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/local/Python-1.5.2/Python'
gmake: *** [Python] Error 2
$


Tried following the HOWTO for BSDI 4.X but doesn't seem to work unless I'm
following it wrong:
http://yyy.zope.org/Members/BitDancer/bsdi4_x_install
How-To: Installing Zope under BSDI 4.x
Created by BitDancer. Last modified on 1999/11/08.

Apparently between BSDI 3.x and BSDI 4.x the way shared libraries are done
was improved. Python as of 1.5.2 is not aware of this change. This means
that the compilation of the Zope dynamic modules fails. The fix is simple,
and has been reported to the Python newsgroup, so hopefully this HOWTO will
be obsolete in the near future.

To compile Zope under BSDI 4.x, you have to get your Python installation
done right. After that Zope compiles without a hitch. Not being a Configure
guru, I'm not sure where the neccessary changes go to make the fix
correctly. So I'll just tell you how I did it:

Run configure with the --with-threads option.

Make sure you have edited Modules/Setup to uncomment the line specifying
that modules be built for dynamic loading.

Try to make Python. It fails.

Edit Modules/Makefile and change the following three lines to appear as
indicated here::

     LDSHARED=       gcc -shared
     CCSHARED=       -fpic
     LINKFORSHARED=  -Xlinker -export-dynamic


Make python. It should work, and the corrected version of the Makefile
should get copied to the [pythonlib]/config directory.

At this point, Zope should build correctly.

Note that there is a bug somewhere (probably in BSDI) that causes the Python
make test to hang in the signal test. This does not appear to impact Zope.


Tried python.org and zope.org and weblogs.userland.com/zopeNewbies/ but no
luck on BSDI information.

Help!
Thanks!