When attempting to install and deinstall lang/python26 to run some unit tests for a change I was going to provide to the maintainer, I ran into this issue:

install -o root -g wheel -m 444 ./../Include/ucnhash.h /usr/local/include/python2.6
install -o root -g wheel -m 444 ./../Include/unicodeobject.h /usr/local/include/python2.6
install -o root -g wheel -m 444 ./../Include/warnings.h /usr/local/include/python2.6
install -o root -g wheel -m 444 ./../Include/weakrefobject.h /usr/local/include/python2.6
install  -o root -g wheel -m 444 pyconfig.h /usr/local/include/python2.6/pyconfig.h
Creating directory /usr/local/lib/python2.6/config
install: /usr/local/lib/python2.6/config exists but is not a directory
*** Error code 71

Stop in /scratch/freebsd/ports/lang/python26/work/Python-2.6.4/portbld.static.
*** Error code 1

Stop in /scratch/freebsd/ports/lang/python26.
*** Error code 1

The problem was caused by an incomplete install into ${prefix} [which I will take up with the FreeBSD project], but manifests itself because the -j value I specified, was too high. I say this because of another comment placed in a top-level Makefile at a previous job about compiling Python 2.4.2 with this particular goal (installing the modules) and race conditions.

I would provide a patch but I'm not sure what the issue could stem from, other than a race conditions with a busted install-sh and incomplete dependencies specified in Makefile.pre.in.

I'll provide more info if needed.

Reproducible via the following on FreeBSD, given a fast enough machine:

cd lang/python26; make deinstall clean; make -j8 all; make -j8 install

[gcooper@bayonetta /scratch/freebsd/ports/lang/python26]$ uname -a
FreeBSD bayonetta.localdomain 9.0-CURRENT FreeBSD 9.0-CURRENT #2: Thu Mar  4 13:16:39 PST 2010     gcooper@bayonetta.localdomain:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/BAYONETTA  amd64
[gcooper@bayonetta /scratch/freebsd/ports/lang/python26]$ sysctl -a hw.model
hw.model: Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU           W3520  @ 2.67GHz

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Mem: 43M Active, 10G Inact, 870M Wired, 76M Cache, 1237M Buf, 537M Free
Swap: 20G Total, 108K Used, 20G Free