[Mailman-Users] Problem with Installing Mailman 2.1.9 on Solaris

[vancleef at lostwells.net]

The esteemed David Devereaux-Weber, P.E. has said:
> 
> Hank,
> 
> I'm still not succeeding in building Mailman.  I'd like to follow 
> another path.  Can you explain why Tcl/TK don't build?  The Python make 
> install command fatals there, and doesn't complete copying some of the 
> modules into the right places.
> 
> Dave
> 
You're running into problems I haven't encountered, if you can't
install Python without tcl and ssl.  I'd suggest clearing the build
and install directories, doing a fresh unpack of the Python sources, 
and running through the build process again.  My recollection is that
both Python and Mailman will build with the gcc 3.4.2 that is in the
Solaris 10 distribution /usr/sfw directory tree, but that you have to
do some jiggery-pokery with LD_RUN_PATH, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, or crle to
get the builds to find the GNU libraries.  My installations were built
with the Sun development system (Studio 11, installs in
/opt/SUNWspro), so I haven't explored the implications of running with
a GNU build on Solaris 10 very far.

Why Python won't build with the extensions in Solaris is that the
build process doesn't look in /opt/sfw.  I've done enough porting
exploration to see that a "fix" involves adding a search to those
directories in setup.py (in the Python build base directory), but
haven't explored everything I need to know to assure that I've got an
appropriate fix.  Some queries to the Python users and Python
developers mail lists didn't produce meaningful results, and I'm left
with the feeling that "yer on yer own" with Python reliability.  What
I can tell you is that my builds of Python 2.4.4 and 2.5, using the
Sun devsys, and without doing any porting work, install and support
Mailman on my systems.  

I'd suggest capturing the outputs of the configure and make steps and
reviewing them.  Also, the various log, makefile, and status files that 
configure generates.  I'm not really prepared to wear a Python
developer hat and try to work Python-on-Solaris problems beyond
getting a Python that will support Mailman.

Hank