Re: BUG #6633: PL/Python build does not honor PYTHON on Mac OS X

On Tue, May 8, 2012 at 11:07 AM, Clay McClure <clay(at)daemons(dot)net> wrote:

> Thanks for your reply, Tom. I will check with the Homebrew
> maintainers, but my (albeit limited) understanding of the subject is
> that a framework Python is only needed for GUI applications. Unless
> PL/Python is opening windows and drawing buttons, plpython.so should
> work when linked against a non-framework python, whose libraries can
> be found like so:
>
>  $ python-config --libs
>
> What is interesting to me is that the top-level configure script in
> the Postgres source distribution already does this, saving the result
> in `python_libspec`. It's not clear to me why that is later overridden
> in the plpython Makefile to build against a framework python.
>
> I'll write back when I hear from the Homebrew folks.

It turns out that `python-config --libs` is only useful when you're
dealing with a unix-style (not framework) python. Since Mac OS X ships
with framework pythons, it makes sense that PostgreSQL would assume a
framework python, but it would be nice if it would also accomodate
unix-style pythons. According to the Homebrew folks, here's how to do
that:

"The gist of it is to grab python-config --prefix and store it in a
variable, say py_prefix. If the file $py_prefix/Python exists, you are
dealing with a Framework build and -framework Python is the
appropriate method of linking. Otherwise, you have a UNIX-style build
and -lpython is the appropriate method of linking."

The '-lpython' specifics are those reported by `python-config --libs`.

Cheers,

Clay