This is my first post. I have Slackware 14.2 64-bit. I needed to have pip, which for some reason isn't included with the full install. I downloaded pip 9.0.3 from SlackBuilds and installed it using Slackpkg. When I ran 'pip list' to check, it suggested I upgrade to version 19.3.1 via the 'pip install --upgrade pip' command. I did that and a message said that it deleted pip 9.0.3 and installed the new version.

However, running pkgtool showed pip 9.0.3 still installed. Just for curiosity, I used pkgtool to remove the pip 9.0.3 package, which it said it did. But come to find out, it really removed the upgraded one. So pip evidently didn't update the install log (didn't delete the old version and didn't add the new version to the log) but yet the upgraded version 19.3.1 was actually tied to the old version that pkgtool saw and removed. Is there a more correct way to do this so that the package database stays accurate?

Hi and welcome!
For python things that move faster than current, I use virtual environment : it installs a independent python environment in a directory that can be changed without messing with the distribution (nothing touched, rm the folder and everything is gone).

To use it, just use the correct path :
./bin/pip instead of pip for instance.

3 members found this post helpful.

Thank you for your advice. It sounds reasonable. I have a lot to learn regarding setting up python in Linux for different uses.

Just to give you some backstory...

pip is not aware of what distro it is on, nor how packages were installed. When you upgraded pip using pip, it just updated the binaries and required files, but it doesn't know anything about Slackware, pkgtool, or the package database. In the same turn, Slackware, pkgtool, and the package database are not aware of what pip does, so it is not tracking any changes made by pip.

pip installs things that aren't able to be tracked by Slackware, so while it provides a relatively easy to use interface and design, it won't show any potential conflicts with default packages or packages provided by SBo (which they won't use pip at all, so it might overwrite software provided by pip).

Personally, I try and stay away from pip and any other tool that can install programs that aren't tracked by pkgtool. If I need a python tool that isn't provided by SBo, but is available on pip, then I'll either use pip2tgz, which will generate a Slackware package from a package available with pip, or I'll just create my own SlackBuild (although, I know not everyone has the knowledge or desire to do this method).

3 members found this post helpful.

Thank you. I appreciate the information. I have hardly ever added anything outside of Slackware sanctioned but I started working with a python-based app so that's how I ran into that. Normally I try to do everything with pkgtool. And I do want to learn how to make my own tgz packages so that sounds good.

That's why I found virtualenv convenient :
That was : creating an isolated python3 environment. Use it to install some python software. Use the installed software. Wipe completely the isolated env.

When software is mature and do not have to be frequently updated, I borrow a python slackbuild and change it to my needs for the new software.

To make your own Slackware packages, you'll want to get familiar with SlackBuilds. These are scripts that will extract the source, do any required compiling, and then combine it all into a Slackware package.

The first places to start would be the guidelines section on SBo and the SlackBuild page on SlackDocs.

1 members found this post helpful.

@Tonus, It's helpful reading about your experience. I am interested and set up a virtualenv to try with python.

@bassmadrigal, I am fairly familiar with downloading from SlackBuilds and running the scripts to make tgz files. It works very smoothly and I like it, but I feel like I'm cheating. Only once a few years ago did I read up on modifying a generic script, then trying to compile my own tgz from some source code that I found. I can't remember now if it worked out, but I will look into it again very soon. Too many things to do all the time!

Thanks for the tips, you guys!

Followed the same path!

Useful for experiments with slackbuilds : https://slackbuilds.org/templates/

I started to do dirty things for myself... and proudly submitted my first slackbuilds a few days ago (nothing very valuable, only perl modules, but it just could be useful to have them to have something else done!).