I do :
$  hg clone http://hg.python.org/cpython
( my existing Python-2.7, following upgrade to glibc-2.13, started
  producing erroneous results - see gnome.org glib bug :
    https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=648863
  So I tried downloading and building Python-2.7.1 , whose build
  tests fail ( Issue #11946 ) , and was recommended to try building
  latest python from HG . So I try that :
)
$ mkdir /mnt/sda3/Python-2.7 ; cd /mnt/sda3/Python-2.7
$ cat configure.sh
$ cat configure.sh
/usr/src/cpython/configure \
 --prefix=/usr --libdir=/usr/lib64 --enable-shared --with-pic \
 --with-system-ffi \
 --with-system-expat \
 --with-signal-module \
 --with-dbmliborder=bdb:gdbm \
 --with-threads \
 --without-pymalloc \
 --host=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu \
 --build=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu \
 --target=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu \
 --with-libs='-ldb-4.5 -lgdbm' \
 CPPFLAGS='-I/usr/include/db4 -I/usr/include/gdbm' \
 CC="${CC}" \
 CFLAGS="${CFLAGS}" \
 CXX="${CXX}" \
 CXXFLAGS="${CXXFLAGS}"
$ export -p | egrep 'CC|CXX|FLAG|LD|PATH|ARCH|ABI'
declare -x ABI="64"
declare -x ARCH="x86_64"
declare -x CC="/usr/bin/gcc"
declare -x CFLAGS="-march=x86-64 -mtune=k8 -O2 -g -fPIC -DPIC -pipe"
declare -x CXX="/usr/bin/g++"
declare -x CXXFLAGS="-march=x86-64 -mtune=k8 -O2 -g -fPIC -DPIC -pipe"
declare -x LD="/usr/bin/ld"
declare -x OLDPWD="/usr/src/cpython"
declare -x PATH=".:/bin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/usr/sbin"
$ bash -xf ./configure.sh 
...
$ echo $?
0
$ make -j2 2>&1 | tee make.log
$ echo $?
0
$ make test 2>&1 | tee make.test.log
...
[ 16/354] test_argparse
test test_argparse failed -- multiple errors occurred; run in verbose mode for details
...
[146/354] test_httpservers
/usr/src/cpython/Lib/unittest/case.py:799: BytesWarning: str() on a bytes instance
  (i, item1, item2))
test test_httpservers failed -- multiple errors occurred; run in verbose mode for details
[147/354] test_imaplib
[148/354] test_imp
[149/354] test_import
test test_import failed -- Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_import.py", line 545, in test_unwritable_directory
    '__pycache__', '{}.{}.pyc'.format(TESTFN, self.tag))))
AssertionError: True is not false

[150/354] test_importhooks
[151/354] test_importlib
[152/354] test_index
..[200/354] test_os
test test_os failed -- Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_os.py", line 675, in test_exist_ok_existing_directory
    os.makedirs(path, mode=mode, exist_ok=True)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/os.py", line 152, in makedirs
    mkdir(name, mode)
OSError: [Errno 17] File exists: '@test_28453_tmp/dir1'

...
[237/354] test_pyexpat
Fatal Python error: Segmentation fault

Traceback (most recent call first):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_pyexpat.py", line 591 in test1
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/unittest/case.py", line 391 in _executeTestPart
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/unittest/case.py", line 446 in run
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/unittest/case.py", line 498 in __call__
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/unittest/suite.py", line 105 in run
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/unittest/suite.py", line 67 in __call__
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/unittest/suite.py", line 105 in run
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/unittest/suite.py", line 67 in __call__
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/support.py", line 1094 in run
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/support.py", line 1182 in _run_suite
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/support.py", line 1208 in run_unittest
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_pyexpat.py", line 676 in test_main
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/regrtest.py", line 1044 in runtest_inner
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/regrtest.py", line 838 in runtest
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/regrtest.py", line 662 in main
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/regrtest.py", line 1622 in <module>
make: *** [test] Segmentation fault
...

Any suggestions for a python source HG commit or tarball that will
pass its 'make test' on a Linux x86_64 platform ?

Am I doing something wrong here ?

I don't like having to pass '-I/usr/include/db4' '-ldb-4.5', but when
one has both libdb-5.1 installed with 'libdb.so' linking to it, and
/usr/include/db being from libdb-5.1, what else to do ?

Come to think of it, why must python force me to enable any DB* modules
at all ? And why must the whole python executable require linking with
berkeley DB when only the bsddb DL module need do so ?

my expat was just built a few weeks ago from expat-2.0.1.tar.gz:

$ ls -l /usr/lib64/libexpat*
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 577052 Apr  8 21:52 /usr/lib64/libexpat.a
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root     17 Apr  8 21:52 /usr/lib64/libexpat.so -> libexpat.so.1.5.2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root     28 Dec  3 17:37 /usr/lib64/libexpat.so.0 -> /usr/lib64/libexpat.so.1.5.2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root     17 Apr  8 21:52 /usr/lib64/libexpat.so.1 -> libexpat.so.1.5.2
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 387709 Apr  8 21:52 /usr/lib64/libexpat.so.1.5.2

suspect cause #1 - bad system libffi ? I just built it, but :

$ ls -l /usr/lib64/libffi*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  36839 May 25  2008 /usr/lib64/libffi-2.00-beta.so
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 201320 Apr  8 03:46 /usr/lib64/libffi.a
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root     15 Apr  8 03:50 /usr/lib64/libffi.so -> libffi.so.4.0.1
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root     15 Apr  8 03:50 /usr/lib64/libffi.so.4 -> libffi.so.4.0.1
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 134245 Apr  8 03:46 /usr/lib64/libffi.so.4.0.1
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root     16 Jan  1 10:49 /usr/lib64/libffi.so.5 -> libffi.so.5.0.10
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  31520 Jan  1 10:49 /usr/lib64/libffi.so.5.0.10

/usr/lib64/libffi-3.0.6:
total 4
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 13  2008 include

/usr/lib64/libffi-3.0.9:
total 4
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Jan  1 10:49 include

$ ls -l /usr/lib64/libffi*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  36839 May 25  2008 /usr/lib64/libffi-2.00-beta.so
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 193480 Apr 29 13:22 /usr/lib64/libffi.a
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root    904 Apr 29 13:22 /usr/lib64/libffi.la
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root     15 Apr 29 13:22 /usr/lib64/libffi.so -> libffi.so.6.0.0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root     15 Apr  8 03:50 /usr/lib64/libffi.so.4 -> libffi.so.4.0.1
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 134245 Apr  8 03:46 /usr/lib64/libffi.so.4.0.1
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root     16 Jan  1 10:49 /usr/lib64/libffi.so.5 -> libffi.so.5.0.10
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  31520 Jan  1 10:49 /usr/lib64/libffi.so.5.0.10
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root     15 Apr 29 13:22 /usr/lib64/libffi.so.6 -> libffi.so.6.0.0
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 129109 Apr 29 13:22 /usr/lib64/libffi.so.6.0.0

/usr/lib64/libffi-3.0.10rc9:
total 4
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 29 13:22 include


NO - STILL FAILS :
$ make test 2>&1 | tee make.test.log                                                                                                                                  
running build                                                                                                                                                         
running build_ext                                                                                                                                                     
building dbm using bdb
running build_scripts
copying and adjusting /usr/src/cpython/Tools/scripts/pydoc3 -> build/scripts-3.3
copying and adjusting /usr/src/cpython/Tools/scripts/idle3 -> build/scripts-3.3
copying and adjusting /usr/src/cpython/Tools/scripts/2to3 -> build/scripts-3.3
changing mode of build/scripts-3.3/pydoc3 from 644 to 755
changing mode of build/scripts-3.3/idle3 from 644 to 755
changing mode of build/scripts-3.3/2to3 from 644 to 755
renaming build/scripts-3.3/pydoc3 to build/scripts-3.3/pydoc3.3
renaming build/scripts-3.3/idle3 to build/scripts-3.3/idle3.3
renaming build/scripts-3.3/2to3 to build/scripts-3.3/2to3-3.3
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/mnt/sda3/Python-2.7: ./python -E -c 'import sys ; from sysconfig import get_platform ; print(get_platform()+"-"+sys.version[0:3])' >platform
find /usr/src/cpython/Lib -name '*.py[co]' -print | xargs rm -f
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/mnt/sda3/Python-2.7: ./python -Wd -E -bb  /usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/regrtest.py -l
== CPython 3.3a0 (default:1768fed3aedb, Apr 29 2011, 13:27:16) [GCC 4.6.0]
==   Linux-2.6.38.2-jvd-x86_64-with-gentoo-1.12.13 little-endian
==   /usr/src/cpython/build/test_python_15034
Testing with flags: sys.flags(debug=0, inspect=0, interactive=0, optimize=0, dont_write_bytecode=0, no_user_site=0, no_site=0, ignore_environment=1, verbose=0, bytes_warning=2, quiet=0)
[  1/354] test_grammar
[  2/354] test_opcodes
[  3/354] test_dict
[  4/354] test_builtin
[  5/354] test_exceptions
[  6/354] test_types
[  7/354] test_unittest
[  8/354] test_doctest
[  9/354] test_doctest2
[ 10/354] test___all__
[ 11/354] test___future__
[ 12/354] test__locale
[ 13/354] test_abc
[ 14/354] test_abstract_numbers
[ 15/354] test_aifc
[ 16/354] test_argparse
test test_argparse failed -- multiple errors occurred; run in verbose mode for details

gee, I'm glad to hear 'make test' has a verbose mode - 
don't suppose you could let me know how to invoke it
in that message ?  I guess 'make test V=1' ??

no, 'make test V=1' still fails with 'run in verbose mode for details' .
does it mean 'make test verbose=1' ?  'make test mode=verbose' ?

OK, so getting out strace shows I need to do :

$ LD_LIBRARY_PATH=`pwd` LD_PRELINK=`pwd`/libpython3.3.so.1.0 ./python -Wd -E -bb /usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/regrtest.py  -l -v 2>&1 | tee make.test.verbose.log

I'll show the failures from the above command when it has completed .

[ 16/354] test_argparse
... # all ok up to:
test_wb_1 (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeRepr) ... ok
test_failures_many_groups_listargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW) ... FAIL
test_failures_many_groups_sysargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW) ... FAIL
test_failures_no_groups_listargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW) ... FAIL
test_failures_no_groups_sysargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW) ... FAIL
test_failures_one_group_listargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW) ... FAIL
test_failures_one_group_sysargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW) ... FAIL
test_successes_many_groups_listargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW) ... ok
...
test_successes_one_group_sysargs (test.test_argparse.TestTypeUserDefined) ... test test_argparse failed -- multiple errors occurred
ok

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_many_groups_listargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_many_groups_sysargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_no_groups_listargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_no_groups_sysargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_one_group_listargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_one_group_sysargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 1608 tests in 6.725s

FAILED (failures=6)
[ 17/354] test_array

test_successes_one_group_sysargs (test.test_argparse.TestTypeUserDefined) ... test test_argparse failed -- multiple errors occurred
ok

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_many_groups_listargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_many_groups_sysargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_no_groups_listargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_no_groups_sysargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_one_group_listargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_one_group_sysargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 1608 tests in 6.725s

FAILED (failures=6)
[ 17/354] test_array

test_start_with_double_slash (test.test_httpservers.SimpleHTTPRequestHandlerTestCase) ... /usr/src/cpython/Lib/unittest/case.py:799: BytesWarning: str() on a bytes instance
  (i, item1, item2))
test test_httpservers failed -- multiple errors occurred
ok

======================================================================
FAIL: test_get (test.test_httpservers.SimpleHTTPServerTestCase)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_httpservers.py", line 266, in test_get
    self.check_status_and_reason(response, 404)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_httpservers.py", line 242, in check_status_and_reason
    self.assertEqual(response.status, status)
AssertionError: 200 != 404

======================================================================
FAIL: test_authorization (test.test_httpservers.CGIHTTPServerTestCase)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_httpservers.py", line 427, in test_authorization
    (res.read(), res.getheader('Content-type'), res.status))
AssertionError: Tuples differ: (b'Hello World\n', 'text/html'... != (b'', None, 200)

First differing element 0:
b'Hello World\n'
b''

- (b'Hello World\n', 'text/html', 200)
+ (b'', None, 200)

======================================================================
FAIL: test_headers_and_content (test.test_httpservers.CGIHTTPServerTestCase)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_httpservers.py", line 407, in test_headers_and_content
    (res.read(), res.getheader('Content-type'), res.status))
AssertionError: Tuples differ: (b'Hello World\n', 'text/html'... != (b'', None, 200)

First differing element 0:
b'Hello World\n'
b''

- (b'Hello World\n', 'text/html', 200)
+ (b'', None, 200)

======================================================================
FAIL: test_no_leading_slash (test.test_httpservers.CGIHTTPServerTestCase)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_httpservers.py", line 433, in test_no_leading_slash
    (res.read(), res.getheader('Content-type'), res.status))
AssertionError: Tuples differ: (b'Hello World\n', 'text/html'... != (b'', None, 200)

First differing element 0:
b'Hello World\n'
b''

- (b'Hello World\n', 'text/html', 200)
+ (b'', None, 200)

======================================================================
FAIL: test_os_environ_is_not_altered (test.test_httpservers.CGIHTTPServerTestCase)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_httpservers.py", line 440, in test_os_environ_is_not_altered
    (res.read(), res.getheader('Content-type'), res.status))
AssertionError: Tuples differ: (b'Hello World\n', 'text/html'... != (b'', None, 200)

First differing element 0:
b'Hello World\n'
b''

- (b'Hello World\n', 'text/html', 200)
+ (b'', None, 200)

======================================================================
FAIL: test_post (test.test_httpservers.CGIHTTPServerTestCase)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_httpservers.py", line 415, in test_post
    self.assertEqual(res.read(), b'1, python, 123456\n')
AssertionError: b'' != b'1, python, 123456\n'

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 37 tests in 2.971s

FAILED (failures=6)
[147/354] test_imaplib
test_Internaldate2tuple (test.test_imaplib.TestImaplib) ... ok
test_that_Time2Internaldate_returns_a_result (test.test_imaplib.TestImaplib) ... ok

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 2 tests in 0.002s

OK
[148/354] test_imp

test_too_high_from_package (test.test_import.RelativeImportFromImportlibTests) ... test test_import failed -- Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_import.py", line 545, in test_unwritable_directory
    '__pycache__', '{}.{}.pyc'.format(TESTFN, self.tag))))
AssertionError: True is not false

ok

======================================================================
FAIL: test_unwritable_directory (test.test_import.PycacheTests)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_import.py", line 545, in test_unwritable_directory
    '__pycache__', '{}.{}.pyc'.format(TESTFN, self.tag))))
AssertionError: True is not false

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 40 tests in 0.878s

FAILED (failures=1)
[150/354] test_importhooks
testBlocker (test.test_importhooks.ImportHooksTestCase) ... ok
testImpWrapper (test.test_importhooks.ImportHooksTestCase) ... ok
testMetaPath (test.test_importhooks.ImportHooksTestCase) ... ok
testPathHook (test.test_importhooks.ImportHooksTestCase) ... ok

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 4 tests in 0.052s

OK
[151/354] test_importlib

[237/354] test_pyexpat
test_ordered_attributes (test.test_pyexpat.SetAttributeTest) ... ok
test_specified_attributes (test.test_pyexpat.SetAttributeTest) ... ok
test_parse_file (test.test_pyexpat.ParseTest) ... ok
test_unicode (test.test_pyexpat.ParseTest) ... ok
test_illegal (test.test_pyexpat.NamespaceSeparatorTest) ... ok
test_legal (test.test_pyexpat.NamespaceSeparatorTest) ... ok
test_zero_length (test.test_pyexpat.NamespaceSeparatorTest) ... ok
test (test.test_pyexpat.InterningTest) ... ok
test_issue9402 (test.test_pyexpat.InterningTest) ... ok
test1 (test.test_pyexpat.BufferTextTest) ... ok
test2 (test.test_pyexpat.BufferTextTest) ... ok
test3 (test.test_pyexpat.BufferTextTest) ... ok
test4 (test.test_pyexpat.BufferTextTest) ... ok
test5 (test.test_pyexpat.BufferTextTest) ... ok
test6 (test.test_pyexpat.BufferTextTest) ... ok
test7 (test.test_pyexpat.BufferTextTest) ... ok
test_buffering_enabled (test.test_pyexpat.BufferTextTest) ... ok
test_default_to_disabled (test.test_pyexpat.BufferTextTest) ... ok
test (test.test_pyexpat.HandlerExceptionTest) ... ok
test (test.test_pyexpat.PositionTest) ... ok
test_parse_only_xml_data (test.test_pyexpat.sf1296433Test) ... ok
test_1000_bytes (test.test_pyexpat.ChardataBufferTest) ... ok
test_1025_bytes (test.test_pyexpat.ChardataBufferTest) ... ok
test_change_size_1 (test.test_pyexpat.ChardataBufferTest) ... ok
test_change_size_2 (test.test_pyexpat.ChardataBufferTest) ... ok
test_disabling_buffer (test.test_pyexpat.ChardataBufferTest) ... ok
test_unchanged_size (test.test_pyexpat.ChardataBufferTest) ... ok
test_wrong_size (test.test_pyexpat.ChardataBufferTest) ... ok
test1 (test.test_pyexpat.MalformedInputTest) ... Fatal Python error: Segmentation fault

Traceback (most recent call first):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_pyexpat.py", line 591 in test1
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/unittest/case.py", line 391 in _executeTestPart
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/unittest/case.py", line 446 in run
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/unittest/case.py", line 498 in __call__
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/unittest/suite.py", line 105 in run
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/unittest/suite.py", line 67 in __call__
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/unittest/suite.py", line 105 in run
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/unittest/suite.py", line 67 in __call__
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/unittest/runner.py", line 168 in run
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/support.py", line 1182 in _run_suite
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/support.py", line 1208 in run_unittest
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_pyexpat.py", line 676 in test_main
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/regrtest.py", line 1044 in runtest_inner
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/regrtest.py", line 838 in runtest
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/regrtest.py", line 662 in main
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/regrtest.py", line 1622 in <module>

Just so you know, you aren't likely to get much help using this approach to bug reporting.  A single, focused bug report is much more likely to get attention.

You might also want to try starting with a "vanilla configure" and see how things go with that first, and once you have that working add the custom configure flags that you showed in your first post one by one.

In reply to last comment :
RE: > a single, focused bug

What is this bug if not single and focused ?

The "SINGLE FOCUS" of this bug, in case you missed it , is that
there appears to be no source release of python that can build
and pass its make tests on my platform ; I then "FOCUSED" on
detailing each test failure found ; maybe you really don't
want people to be able to see these failures , which is why
the build hides the "-v" verbose option so effectively ?

I did first try :

$ ./configure --prefix=/usr --libdir=/usr/lib64 --enable-shared 

but this fails because no db module can build - again, back to 
my previous question - why must I enable any dbm module ?

I'll append the output of the failures from this "vanilla configure".

OK, so the ' vanilla configure ' build succeeds too - using DB module
only gdbm , and with internal libffi:

$ make clean
$/usr/src/cpython/configure --prefix=/usr --libdir=/usr/lib64 --enable-shared
...
$ echo $?
0
$ make -j2
...
$ echo $?
0

But exactly the same 'make test' errors result using gdm db module
and the internal libffi . Now running the verbose tests and will
append the failure details again.

Is there some special "vanilla configure" set of options
required by Python to pass its make tests ? If so, please
let me know what they are .

'make test' failures after 
$ /usr/src/cypython/configure --prefix=/usr --libdir=/usr/lib64 --enable-shared
$ make -j2 && make test
(make test fails)

So, to run in "verbose mode", I do :

$ LD_LIBRARY_PATH=`pwd` LD_PRELOAD=`pwd`/libpython3.so \
./python -Wd -E -bb /usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/regrtest.py -l -v
...
test test_argparse failed -- multiple errors occurred
ok

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_many_groups_listargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_many_groups_sysargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_no_groups_listargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_no_groups_sysargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_one_group_listargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_one_group_sysargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 1608 tests in 5.199s

FAILED (failures=6)
[ 17/354] test_array
...
======================================================================
ERROR: test_quiet (distutils.tests.test_bdist_rpm.BuildRpmTestCase)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/distutils/tests/test_bdist_rpm.py", line 81, in test_quiet
    cmd.run()
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/distutils/command/bdist_rpm.py", line 367, in run
    self.spawn(rpm_cmd)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/distutils/cmd.py", line 368, in spawn
    spawn(cmd, search_path, dry_run=self.dry_run)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/distutils/spawn.py", line 34, in spawn
    _spawn_posix(cmd, search_path, dry_run=dry_run)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/distutils/spawn.py", line 138, in _spawn_posix
    % (cmd[0], exit_status))
distutils.errors.DistutilsExecError: command 'rpmbuild' failed with exit status 1

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 160 tests in 9.559s

FAILED (errors=2, skipped=5)
[ 94/354] test_docxmlrpc
test_autolink_dotted_methods (test.test_docxmlrpc.DocXMLRPCHTTPGETServer)
Test that selfdot values are made strong automatically in the ... ok
test_autolinking (test.test_docxmlrpc.DocXMLRPCHTTPGETServer)
Test that the server correctly automatically wraps references to ... ok
test_invalid_get_response (test.test_docxmlrpc.DocXMLRPCHTTPGETServer) ... ok
test_lambda (test.test_docxmlrpc.DocXMLRPCHTTPGETServer)
Test that lambda functionality stays the same.  The output produced ... ok
test_system_methods (test.test_docxmlrpc.DocXMLRPCHTTPGETServer)
Test the precense of three consecutive system.* methods. ... ok
test_valid_get_response (test.test_docxmlrpc.DocXMLRPCHTTPGETServer) ... ok

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 6 tests in 0.688s

OK
[ 95/354] test_dummy_thread
...
test_too_high_from_package (test.test_import.RelativeImportFromImportlibTests) ... test test_import failed -- Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_import.py", line 545, in test_unwritable_directory
    '__pycache__', '{}.{}.pyc'.format(TESTFN, self.tag))))
AssertionError: True is not false

ok

======================================================================
FAIL: test_unwritable_directory (test.test_import.PycacheTests)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_import.py", line 545, in test_unwritable_directory
    '__pycache__', '{}.{}.pyc'.format(TESTFN, self.tag))))
AssertionError: True is not false

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 40 tests in 1.403s

FAILED (failures=1)
[150/354] test_importhooks
testBlocker (test.test_importhooks.ImportHooksTestCase) ... ok
testImpWrapper (test.test_importhooks.ImportHooksTestCase) ... ok
testMetaPath (test.test_importhooks.ImportHooksTestCase) ... ok
testPathHook (test.test_importhooks.ImportHooksTestCase) ... ok

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 4 tests in 0.062s

OK
[151/354] test_importlib
test_failure (importlib.test.builtin.test_finder.FinderTests) ... ok
test_too_high_from_package (test.test_import.RelativeImportFromImportlibTests) ... test test_import failed -- Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_import.py", line 545, in test_unwritable_directory
    '__pycache__', '{}.{}.pyc'.format(TESTFN, self.tag))))
AssertionError: True is not false

ok

======================================================================
FAIL: test_unwritable_directory (test.test_import.PycacheTests)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_import.py", line 545, in test_unwritable_directory
    '__pycache__', '{}.{}.pyc'.format(TESTFN, self.tag))))
AssertionError: True is not false

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 40 tests in 1.403s

FAILED (failures=1)
[150/354] test_importhooks
testBlocker (test.test_importhooks.ImportHooksTestCase) ... ok
testImpWrapper (test.test_importhooks.ImportHooksTestCase) ... ok
testMetaPath (test.test_importhooks.ImportHooksTestCase) ... ok
testPathHook (test.test_importhooks.ImportHooksTestCase) ... ok

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 4 tests in 0.062s

OK
[151/354] test_importlib
test_failure (importlib.test.builtin.test_finder.FinderTests) ... ok
test_too_high_from_package (test.test_import.RelativeImportFromImportlibTests) ... test test_import failed -- Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_import.py", line 545, in test_unwritable_directory
    '__pycache__', '{}.{}.pyc'.format(TESTFN, self.tag))))
AssertionError: True is not false

ok

======================================================================
FAIL: test_unwritable_directory (test.test_import.PycacheTests)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_import.py", line 545, in test_unwritable_directory
    '__pycache__', '{}.{}.pyc'.format(TESTFN, self.tag))))
AssertionError: True is not false

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 40 tests in 1.403s

FAILED (failures=1)
[150/354] test_importhooks
testBlocker (test.test_importhooks.ImportHooksTestCase) ... ok
testImpWrapper (test.test_importhooks.ImportHooksTestCase) ... ok
testMetaPath (test.test_importhooks.ImportHooksTestCase) ... ok
testPathHook (test.test_importhooks.ImportHooksTestCase) ... ok

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 4 tests in 0.062s

OK
[151/354] test_importlib
test_failure (importlib.test.builtin.test_finder.FinderTests) ... ok


est_send_whole_file (test.test_os.TestSendfile) ... ok
test_set_get_priority (test.test_os.ProgramPriorityTests) ... test test_os failed -- Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_os.py", line 675, in test_exist_ok_existing_directory
    os.makedirs(path, mode=mode, exist_ok=True)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/os.py", line 152, in makedirs
    mkdir(name, mode)
OSError: [Errno 17] File exists: '@test_30733_tmp/dir1'

ok

======================================================================
ERROR: test_exist_ok_existing_directory (test.test_os.MakedirTests)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_os.py", line 675, in test_exist_ok_existing_directory
    os.makedirs(path, mode=mode, exist_ok=True)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/os.py", line 152, in makedirs
    mkdir(name, mode)
OSError: [Errno 17] File exists: '@test_30733_tmp/dir1'

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 91 tests in 1.735s

FAILED (errors=1, skipped=13)
[201/354] test_ossaudiodev

...

test_successes_one_group_sysargs (test.test_argparse.TestTypeUserDefined) ... test test_argparse failed -- multiple errors occurred
ok

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_many_groups_listargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_many_groups_sysargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_no_groups_listargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_no_groups_sysargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_one_group_listargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

======================================================================
FAIL: test_failures_one_group_sysargs (test.test_argparse.TestFileTypeW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 216, in wrapper
    test_func(self)
  File "/usr/src/cpython/Lib/test/test_argparse.py", line 235, in test_failures
    raises(ArgumentParserError, parser.parse_args, args)
AssertionError: ArgumentParserError not raised by parse_args

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 1608 tests in 5.199s

FAILED (failures=6)
[ 17/354] test_array
test_constructor (test.test_array.BadConstructorTest) ... ok




OK, at least it doesn't SEGV - I guess python doesn't like berkeley
DB anymore - but still the same failures . I'm not confident to
start using this build until I can pin down why eg test_argparse
and test_import are failing.

A focused bug report would focus on *one* of the test failures (as in the failures from running a single test_xxxxx).

Python3 does not support Berkeley DB out of the box, you need a third party library to get bdb support.

You might be interested to look at our buildbot status page; that will show any tests failing on the tips of all the branches current getting modifications.  http://www.python.org/dev/buildbot/all/console

You will note that we do not currently have a 64bit buildbot for Ubuntu, and that the Gentoo 64bit bot is currently offline.  So there may be problems on tip of which we aren't aware.  I doubt that argparse is one of them, but you never know.

> I'm not confident to start using this build until I can pin down why eg
> test_argparse and test_import are failing.

Feel free to look into the failures in Lib/test/test_argparse.py and Lib/test/test_import.py

OK, so those test_argparse.py and test_import.py tests succeed if run
as a non-root user , because as the super-user one is allowed to
override mode 0300 ( lack of 'w' bit for owner ) on a directory ,
so some tests that check if they are unable to create files when
directory 'w' permissions would not allow this for a non-root 
user fail .

I think if users are not meant to be running the test scripts as root,
then the first thing the test suite should do is :

    if os.getuid() == 0 :
       print( "The test suite will fail if run as the super-user." )
       sys.exit(1)  # or is it os.exit ? I forget ...

But if, as I hope, you will allow the root user to run the test suite,
then please skip tests that test if a non-root user shouldn't be
allowed to do something as I did for the patch attached to issue #11956 :
       @unittest.skipUnless( (os.name == 'posix') and not ( os.getuid() == 0 ),
                         "test meaningful only on posix systems as non-root user")
    def test_unwritable_directory(self):
...

argparse.py needs a similar fix, but I'm not sure where - I raised
issue #11955 on this .

hmm... not sure if "make test" completely succeeds as non-root user yet:
"test_subprocess" has been sitting in this state for @ 30mins :

[282/354] test_subprocess
.
    this bit of output is from a test of stdout in a different process ...

and is getting rather large ( 'top' output for process ) :

20092 jason     21   1  549m 251m 7392 R   45 15.0   5:46.73 python            

how long is 'test_subprocess' meant to take ?

Nope, all tests except rpm dependant test_distutils OK as non-root 
with the patch I submitted for #11956 - so I guess that's good
enough .
Please fix the python 'make test' to work when run as root user .
Thank You!

One last niggle : when I do 
$ DESTDIR=`pwd`/inst make install

The configure '--libdir=/usr/lib64' setting I specified is ignored
and python installs itself under /usr/lib . I guess I need to raise
a different bug on this ?

test_distutils should not be dependent on the existence of rpm (if it references the system rpm it should skip if it doesn't exist).

It is difficult to find someone willing to run a buildbot as the root user, so while we will see about fixing the test suite to run as the root user, it may get broken again by and by unintentionally.

Thanks for figuring out what was going wrong.

I think there may already be an open bug for your last niggle, you might search the tracker to check.  I know there is an open question about what to do about /usr/lib64.

I just ran into this with test_httpserver/Python2.7, which fails if run
as root. If I understand correctly this is the main problem here. Jason,
do you agree to change the issue title to reflect this?

I'm not sure what platform this was on, but if it was a Fedora system then test_distutils should also be working as non-root now (see #14443)

I can confirm that test_distutils runs fine on Fedora both as root
and as non-root (rpmbuild is installed).

Also, I don't see any test failures when running the whole test suite
as root. IMO this means that all remaining issues in this report are
fixed.