upgrading python...

[Matthew Miller]

On Wed, Aug 02, 2006 at 06:50:11AM -0700, bruce wrote:
> i'min a situation where i might need to upgrade python. i have the current
> version of python for FC3. i might need to have the version for FC4. i built
> the version that's on FC4 from the python source RPM.

Going from Python 2.3 as in FC3 to FC4's Python 2.4 isn't going to be
viable. Too different.

> however, when i simply try to install the resulting RPM, the app gives me
> dependency issues from apps that are dependent on the previous/current
> version of python.

Exactly.


> i'm trying to figure out if there's a 'best' way to proceed.

One option: build a new python RPM that installs Python2.4 into an
alternate path, or skip that complication and just build and install it
into /usr/local, leaving the system python intact.

But I think the *better* solution is to upgrade to Fedora Core 5 or Fedora
Core 6 Test 2. You want new software, go with a collection of new software
tested together.


> do i simply do the install, and force it to overwrite the current version of
> python?

Don't do this. It will break everything. Including yum, which is written in
python.


> is there a way to point 'yum' at my new python RPM, and let yum take care of
> dealing with any dependcy issues? and how would yum handle weird dependency
> issues with RPMs that don't exist.. does yum have the ability to actually
> build required apps from source?

Yum is pretty good, but it's not *that* magical.


-- 
Matthew Miller           mattdm at mattdm.org          <http://mattdm.org/>
Boston University Linux      ------>              <http://linux.bu.edu/>