When installing Python 2.5 on a completely Python-less system 'make install' failed. The error that caused the failure was

Compiling /usr/lib/python2.5/test/test_multibytecodec.py ...
Sorry: UnicodeError: ("\\N escapes not supported (can't load unicodedata module)",)
[snip]
Compiling /usr/lib/python2.5/zipfile.py ...
make: *** [libinstall] Error 1

'find -name unicodedata.so' showed me that the library did not exist in the build tree. However, after a 'make -i install' to force make to continue despite the error, unicodedata.so was there. So apparently the library is not built until a later stage of make install. And indeed, subsequent 'make install' calls without -i were successful. 

It is important to note that if you have a previous Python installation (at least of the same version), 'make install' will go through, because it'll load the library from there. So if you want to reproduce the issue you will have to install from a freshly unpacked tarball on a system with no Python installation.

It shouldn't be a problem changing the Makefile to do sharedinstall before libinstall in the altinstall target. I'm guessing that would solve the problem.

The same problem arises when installing Python using "make altinstall", even with another Python installed. 

Another workaround (by Jaroslaw Zabiello):

After executing
./configure
you have to edito
Modules/Setup
file and uncomment the following line:
#zlib zlibmodule.c -I$(prefix)/include -L$(exec_prefix)/lib -lz
Then continue with normal make; make install.

The build failure is still present on svn trunk.

I'm using the first workaround posted (i.e. "changing the Makefile to do sharedinstall before
libinstall in the altinstall target") to build from trunk.

Bumping priority so this has a better change of being confirmed/closed.

I have the same issue on Sun Solaris while compiling Python 2.4.5 on a Python-less system.

I was using GNU tools (tar, zlib, libgcc and bash).

I have noticed that the error appears while using --prefix=/something/ending/with/Python-2.4

But if I use --prefix=/something/ending/with/SomethingElse, like
--prefix=/something/ending/with/Python-24 or
--prefix=/something/ending/with/PythonTest

Everything goes well and make install no more fails.

It looks like a fail regex or a hard coded path error.

Hope this can help.

Best regards,

Gaël,

Interesting. What is the content of sys.path when you start ./python from the build tree?

Amaury Forgeot d'Arc a écrit :
> Amaury Forgeot d'Arc <amauryfa@gmail.com> added the comment:
>
> Interesting. What is the content of sys.path when you start ./python from the build tree?
>   

I will tell you tomorrow, I have no access to the computer at this hour.

Gaël,
> ----------
> nosy: +amaury.forgeotdarc
>
> _______________________________________
> Python tracker <report@bugs.python.org>
> <http://bugs.python.org/issue1669349>
> _______________________________________
>

Here it is.


Python 2.4.5 (#1, Feb 24 2010, 08:26:11)
[GCC 3.4.6] on sunos5
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import sys
>>> print sys.path
[
'', 
'/tmp/Python-2.4/lib/python24.zip', 
'/install_path/Plone-3.2.1r4-UnifiedInstaller/packages/Python-2.4.5/Lib', 
'/install_path/Plone-3.2.1r4-UnifiedInstaller/packages/Python-2.4.5/Lib/plat-sunos5', 
'/install_path/Plone-3.2.1r4-UnifiedInstaller/packages/Python-2.4.5/Lib/lib-tk', 
'/install_path/Plone-3.2.1r4-UnifiedInstaller/packages/Python-2.4.5/Modules', 
'/install_path/Plone-3.2.1r4-UnifiedInstaller/packages/Python-2.4.5/build/lib.solaris-2.10-sun4u-2.4']


PS: Sorry for the message above, haven't seen I was responding to the bug system. Feel free to drop it.

Can someone with install and/or build experience please confirm or deny that this is a problem with supported versions of Python.

i think i am running into this trying to cross-compile for i686-gentoo-linux-uclibc and have been unable to figure out how to get altinstall to succeed:

http://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=269111#c12

build log available at http://bugs.gentoo.org/attachment.cgi?id=253831&action=view

any thoughts?

i have managed to get past unicodedata fails by manually enabling unicodedata (https://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/21a3b6db8f5a246b?hl=en). got another error right after that, but that might be something further gentoo/xcompile specific, details in gentoo bug for those interested.

I get the same error when building Python-2.5.6c1 on Fedora 14 (with python2.7 installed).

./configure --prefix=$PREFIX && make install

Just to clarify the workaround used by lkraav on Gentoo, I attached a patch that manually enables unicodedata in Modules/Setup.dist

I am closing this because none of the reports are for current versions (2.7,3.2)

I am seeing this behavior with 2.7.1.

I've got the issue with Python 2.4.6 and solved the issue with changing sequence of altinstall steps (moved sharedinstall before libinstall). See attached Makefile-2.4.6-unicodedata-zipfile-libinstall-altinstall-sequence.patch.