Updating version for the python
 

Dear all,

I am being faced this problem last week.Now I need some solution. While installing Debian os itself Python has been installed successfully.the version is 2.4.4.But I want to use 2.6 how can I upgrade it.

Whether I want to delete the existing version of python and install new version ?

OR

Without deleting the existing version in my system I can upgrade the version of the python.

Please help me............

You could just install the new version alongside the old one, and simply use the new python where needed. I had an "oldish" installation of Python at work and since I didn't have the permissions to upgrade the system, simply installed a local (newer) version and used that. If you download the package, there are instructions for that. You'll need compilation tools for that, of course. I'm not completely sure how it would work out with the binary packages, maybe somebody else can shed light on that -- if and how it's possible to install a binary package to a non-default prefix -- but if you have the compilation tools ready, it's no hassle installing it to a different prefix, for example $HOME/python-2.6, or /opt/python-2.6 or where ever you want it.

Of course you can just check if some Debian reposities have the 2.6 version of Python (or version 3) and use apt-get to upgrade the installation, but don't be afraid to compile another version either. Just grab the needed compilation tools from Debian reposities and get to work; if I recall this right, it's just a matter of passing --prefix=/new/prefix option to the configure script and then proceeding as usual.

See the 2.6 release page at python.org for more information (download the source and read the README file). Or if you're interested and it's ok not to use version 2, click the link for 3.1.1.

2.4.4 seems to be in etch(oldstable), while all other branches (including the backports) got 2.5.*
So if you want 2.6 theres no way by using the official debian repos.

check here for search term python in the branches to make sure its right info:
http://packages.debian.org/search?ke...le&section=all

One thing is sure : you cannot remove the default python.
100--150 of your packages depends on it.
If you recently installed the old Debian Etch, you could
just replace it with Ubuntu 9.04, which has python 2.5
and 2.6 installed at the same time.
Or wait the 3-4 weeks for Ubuntu 9.10 : which also has both.

Debian Etch : see @ b0uncer post # 2, for the extra python,
just compile it. No 2.6 packages for Debian, AFAIK.
.....

download the RPM and install it
rpm -i [rmp name]