separate shared libraries or different Linux/Unix

[stuntgoat]

Hi,

I want to start using Python 2.6 and 3000. I have several questions.

What, in your experiences, is a functionally elegant solution to
installing 2.6 and 3 from source without breaking package dependencies
on your favorite Linux/Unix flavor? Is compiling Python 2.6 and 3.0 on
a *nix development machine and having it work seamlessly as simple as
choosing a particular flavor or are there always going to be package
juggling/mangling/pinning/managing issues affecting the other programs
on the operating system? Is it as simple as choosing a flavor that is
likely to have a Python 3 package available?

Or:

Is there a way to make a copy of shared libraries ( under perhaps /usr/
local/py2.6lib/ and /usr/local/py3lib/ ) so that I can use 2.6 and 3
without causing package problems with other programs within my
operating system? If this seems like a good solution, where can I find
more information about how to implement separate libraries inside the
same OS as appropriate for Python? This might be the better solution
than simply choosing a development flavor of *nix because I am going
to want to install other Python libraries like numpy and matplotlib
from source that might depend on other potentially incompatible shared
libraries than either versions of Python or my Linux/Unix distro ( I
have a feeling I am going to learn how to use ldconfig ).

I have a bit of experience with Debian Etch but I recently garbled my
package management database while compiling the latest version of zlib
for Python 2.6. ( why was I compiling and installing zlib from source?
I was learning another lesson in patience and planning )