[issue2219] Py30a3: Possibly confusing message when module detection fails

[Martin v. Löwis]

Martin v. Löwis added the comment:

> What I find confusing is:
> 
> Failed to find the necessary bits to build these modules:
> <modules>
> To find the necessary bits, look in setup.py in detect_modules() for the
> module's name.
> 
> I find it confusing because AFAIK if a module can't be built it usually
> means that you should change the Modules/Setup file and not setup.py
> itself. (My impression is that the message is aimed at Python developers
> rather than Python users.) 

No, not at all. If you see that message, it usually means you are on
a Linux system, and you have forgotten to install the header files
for the library the module relies on. You need to look into setup.py
to find out what those header files are, and install them. Changing
Modules/Setup won't help at all, as you don't *have* the header
files.

It's true that sometimes, you can work around the problem by editing
Modules/Setup (in particular, if your system is not Linux). However,
this is not the case the message is aimed at.

> If Modules/Setup is still the correct file
> for users to edit

Yes, it is.

> perhaps the message should be something like:
> 
> Failed to find the necessary bits to build these modules:
> <modules>
> If you want these modules and they are on your system, try editing
> Modules/Setup to be able to find them.

No, that change should not be made.

>> In any case, it is deliberate that db 4.6 is not supported - that
>> release doesn't really work.
> 
> OK. (But that is a pity since a lot of people use Fedora 8.)

Please complain to Oracle.

Regards,
Martin

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