The 'compile' built-in function sometimes fails when
given a source string that doesn't end in an EOL.

The following example crashes Python 2.3, 2.4, and 2.5a1:

prompt> ./python2.5 -c "compile('def foo(x):\n
pass\n#abc', 'blah.py', 'exec')"
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<string>", line 1, in <module>
  File "blah.py", line 3
    #abc
      ^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax

Attached is a patch to Lib/test/test_compile.py with a
test for this.

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The case that led me to this was calling
'trace.find_executable_linenos' on source files with this
condition.

See also
https://opensvn.csie.org/traccgi/testoob/trac.cgi/ticket/206

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This is a documented limitation of compile. The docs
say "the input must be terminated by at least one
newline character". See:
http://docs.python.org/lib/built-in-funcs.html#l2h-16

I would say that this is a bug in the trace module
(compare trace.find_executable_module and
py_compile.compile).

As near as I can tell, for 2.5.2 and 3.0c1, the limitation on compile
only applies when the last line only contains a comment.

>>> print (compile("def f():\n  pass #haha",'','exec'))
<code object <module> at 00AADAD0, file "", line 1>

>>> print (compile("def f():\n  pass\n#haha",'','exec')) # or
>>> print (compile("def f():\n  pass\n  #haha",'','exec'))
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
  File "", line 3
    #haha

I would prefer more consistent behavior.  I have opened a separate doc
issue that includes the documentation of this issue.
http://bugs.python.org/issue4118

Fixed in r76231.