[Tutor] building Python 2.6?

[Bernard Rankin]

> > Python 2.5 builds fine, but I am getting an error when I run "make" for 2.6.1
> > 
> > Here is the command line I am using:
> > ../configure -prefix=/home/username/local-python/ --enable-unicode=ucs4
> > 
> > (I don't know what the ucs4 thing is, but all the HOWTOs I saw say to use it. 
> )
> 
> UCS (universal character set) is the name of the ISO norm that is +/- equivalent 
> to unicode. ucs-4 is an encoding equivalent to utf-16, if I remenber well.
>


Is this something I need?  Do it hurt to use it?
 
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > Here is what the local python reports itself as:
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > 
> > Python 2.4.3 (#1, Jul 29 2007, 14:09:31) 
> > [GCC 3.4.6 20060404 (Red Hat 3.4.6-8)] on linux2
> > 
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > Here is the error after I run "make":
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > [SNIP]
> > /home/username/local-src/Python-2.6.1/Modules/_ctypes/_ctypes.c:3941: error: 
> syntax error before '*' token
> > /home/username/local-src/Python-2.6.1/Modules/_ctypes/_ctypes.c:3942: warning: 
> function declaration isn't a prototype
> > /home/username/local-src/Python-2.6.1/Modules/_ctypes/_ctypes.c: In function 
> `CFuncPtr_nonzero':
> > /home/username/local-src/Python-2.6.1/Modules/_ctypes/_ctypes.c:3943: error: 
> `self' undeclared (first use in this function)
> > 
> > Failed to find the necessary bits to build these modules:
> > _tkinter           bsddb185           sunaudiodev    
> > To find the necessary bits, look in setup.py in detect_modules() for the 
> module's name.
> > 
> > 
> > Failed to build these modules:
> > _ctypes                                              
> > 
> > running build_script                                        
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 
> Saw the same kind of error report for buiding ctypes, precisely, on another 
> list. It seemed that this module's buiding is platform dependant. Well informed 
> people said that it's not needed anyway (it allows using native C value types in 
> python code).
> Don't know more myself.
> 

Hmm....    Do I need ctypes to use TurboGears/Pylons/etc?

Is the problem fixable?

If I chose to not use ctypes, how do I correctly build 2.6 without it?


Thank you :)