trouble building 2.1

[s713221 at student.gu.edu.au]

cindy wrote:
> 
> Hi
> I'm trying to install the new release of python.
> I'm currently using redhat 7.0. I would like to leave the old release,
> python 1.5.2, along.
> Should I have used  " make altinstall"  and set the --prefix  option for
> the new install?
> 
> When I key in make I get the following error:
> 
> gcc -c -g -O2 -Wall -Wstrict-prototypes -I. -I./Include -DHAVE_CONFIG_H
> -o Modules/python.o Modules/python.c
> In file included from Include/Python.h:54,
>                  from Modules/python.c:3:
> Include/pyport.h:422:2: #error "LONG_BIT definition appears wrong for
> platform (bad gcc/glibc config?)."
> make: *** [Modules/python.o] Error 1
> 
> Thanks.
> Wayne

Adding to the other poster's reply, if you want to install python2.1
beside python1.5, yes you have to use make altinstall after you've done
a ./configure (with options) and a make. Altinstall does everything make
install does, except wipe out previous installs of python and resetting
of the python symlink to the python2.1 executable.

./configure --prefix=/something sets the root of the install. So if for
example, you do

./configure --prefix=/ (really not recommended), the binaries are
installed in /bin, the libraries in /lib/python2.1 and the header files
in /include/python2.1

For my Mandrake system, I always do
./configure --prefix=/usr, which puts the binary in /usr/bin, etc etc.
This saves me having to reset the PATH variable in my /etc/profile or
~/.bashrc files, and matches up with how everything else is done in the
system. However,some other systems and users use /usr/local as the root
directory for python (and other programs)
./configure --prefix=/usr/local, which puts the binaries in
/usr/local/bin, etc, etc.

To get a better understanding, do
./configure --help, which gives you instructions on all the options
configure uses.

Joal Heagney/AncientHart