How do I fix the python installer's 'missing dependencies' error?

Question

Background:

• running ubuntu

So I downloaded the python "install from source" tarball. I ran make and got this error message:

Python build finished, but the necessary bits to build these modules were not found:
_aaa _bbb _ccc ... _jjj _kkk

I google'd and found one solution is to:

1. MANUALLY map all the string names from the error message to something in the apt-get repo
2. MANUALLY call "sudo apt-get AAA BBB ... JJJ KKK" to get all the libraries

I can easily do all of that. But I have no way of knowing what is the right version libraries I need to get! How in the world am I supposed to fix the missing dependencies if I don't know what the exact missing dependency is?

Answer 1

Why make things difficult? Ubuntu comes with python pre-installed. If you're trying to get the latest python 3 installed as well, do this:

sudo apt-get install python3

Installing from source ought to be a last resort on Ubuntu, because you're not letting the package manager handle all the dependency management for you, and you're not registering your newly installed files for later upgrade or removal.