Here is my take on the problem. Works for Python3. The main features are:
- Each Python version is compiled from source
- All versions are installed locally
- Does not mangle your system's default Python installation in any way
- Each Python version is isolated with virtualenv
Prerequisites: If you are using some bare-bones thin client with no extra turf installed, you should run this first (in ubuntu 18.04 at least, extra packages added for convenience):
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
sudo apt-add-repository universe
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y build-essential cmake
sudo apt-get install -y zlib1g zlib1g-dev libsqlite3-dev \
openssl libssl-dev libffi-dev unzip pciutils net-tools \
libblas-dev gfortran libblas3
The steps are as follows:
If you have several extra python versions installed in some other way, get rid of them, e.g., remove $HOME/.local/lib/python3.x, etc. (also the globally installed ones). Don't touch your system's default python3 version though.
Download source for different python versions under the following directory structure:
$HOME/
python_versions/ : download Python-*.tgz packages here and "tar xvf" them. You'll get directories like this:
Python-3.4.8/
Python-3.6.5/
Python-3.x.y/
...
At each "Python-3.x.y/" directory, do the following (do NOT use "sudo" in any of the steps!):
mkdir root
./configure --prefix=$PWD/root
make -j 2
make install
virtualenv --no-site-packages -p root/bin/python3.x env
At "python_versions/" create files like this:
env_python3x.bash:
echo "type deactivate to exit"
source $HOME/python_versions/Python-3.x.y/env/bin/activate
Now, anytime you wish to opt for python3.x, do
source $HOME/python_versions/env_python3x.bash
to enter the virtualenv
While in the virtualenv, install your favorite python packages with
pip install
To exit the virtualenv and python version just type "deactivate"
UPDATE
It seems that --no-site-packages
is deprecated. There's an easy fix for this: Once you have activated the virtualenv, just point the HOME env variable to somewhere else than your actual home directory, i.e.:
export HOME=some/where/else
A nice way to do this in general is:
- Create virtualenv
- Activate virtualenv
- If you want to "recycle" existing libraries to your virtualenv, softlink them from your existing install, i.e.
ln -s $HOME/.local/lib/python3.6/site-packages/numpy $PWD/venv/lib/python3.6/site-packages/
- Do
export PYTHONPATH=
, export HOME=/some/other/dir
Now you should have custom-isolated virtualenv.
UPDATE 2 / SUDO
Wan't to force sudo to use your virtualenv?
Defaults secure_path="/home/USENAME/Python-3.x.y/env/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/snap/bin"
Defaults env_keep += "VIRTUAL_ENV"
Defaults env_keep += "PYTHONPATH"
Now try "sudo python3 --version" and magic should happen
UPDATE 3 / DOCKER
Enable virtualenv inside your docker (of course, you have built it in your docker image):
ENV VIRTUAL_ENV=/home/USER/Python-3.x.y/env
ENV PYTHONPATH=
ENV PATH="$VIRTUAL_ENV/bin:$PATH"
pip34
andpip35
? – JinSnowpip3.x
actually manages the python version that you want to install packages to (perhaps runpip3.x -V
to see). Or use @Hugo's solution to have better control over lots of python versions. – Yibo Yang