Tag: python

The mid-language crisis

A while after I wrote the Apixu libraries for Go and PHP, they asked me if I could help them with some issue a client had when trying to install the Python library. I quickly tested and sent them steps on how to install all requirements. And I noticed the library could use some additions.

My experience with Python was of a few lines and I felt like it would be a good context to write a few more, to understand the language a little better, to learn about its requirements, ways to set up a library and write some tests to validate JSON schemas. A clean language with a simple package manager and clear error handling. Basic integrations with Flask and Django were pretty smooth.

One thing I like about Apixu is they have multiple libraries and after freshening the Python one I was inspired to do more. And there was where to choose from.

JavaScript is an old friend but we met only in the browser some years ago. It was time to face its server side of the moon and add some touches to the NodeJS library. I’m not a huge fan of callbacks, but Promises are indeed a nice way to handle responses. Express was easy to start with, I like its micro framework feeling. The package manager, npm, doesn’t seem too far from PHP’s composer, we got along well. Continue reading The mid-language crisis

A fresh bug on Libvirt Python

If you’re using Libvirt Python library on Ubuntu, watch out for the 4.1.0 version. When trying to install, you’re gonna have this beauty:

Command "/usr/bin/python -u -c "import setuptools, tokenize;__file__='/tmp/pip-build-6nHyGT/libvirt-python/setup.py';exec(compile(getattr(tokenize, 'open', open)(__file__).read().replace('\r\n', '\n'), __file__, 'exec'))" install --record /tmp/pip-v9fxvX-record/install-record.txt --single-version-externally-managed --compile" failed with error code 1 in /tmp/pip-build-6nHyGT/libvirt-python/

It’a fresh known bug: https://bugs.launchpad.net/openstack-requirements/+bug/1753539

Until the patch is released, you can use an older stable version:

pip install libvirt-python==4.0.0

 

Compile Libvirt for Python on Ubuntu

Installing Libvirt on Ubuntu for Python is as easy as:

sudo apt install -y python python-pip libvirt-dev
pip install libvirt-python

 

With the default installation, you could miss some of the Libvirt API bindings exposed to the Python package, although you have the latest version.  So if you ever need to compile the library yourself, here you go (my setup was Libvirt 4.0.0 on Ubuntu 16.04 with Python 2.7):

#!/usr/bin/env bash

WORK_DIR="/tmp/libvirt"

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y git

# LIBVIRT

WORK_DIR_LIBVIRT="$WORK_DIR/libvirt"
mkdir -p $WORK_DIR_LIBVIRT
cd $WORK_DIR_LIBVIRT

LIBVIRT_VERSION="v4.0.0"
git clone -b $LIBVIRT_VERSION --single-branch --depth 1 https://github.com/libvirt/libvirt.git .
git checkout $LIBVIRT_VERSION

sudo apt install -y \
	gettext \
	libtool \
	autoconf \
	autopoint \
	pkg-config \
	xsltproc \
	libxml2-utils
./bootstrap

sudo apt install -y \
	libnl-3-dev \
	libnl-route-3-dev \
	libxml2-dev \
	libdevmapper-dev \
	libpciaccess-dev \
	python
./configure

sudo apt install -y intltool
aclocal

make
sudo make install


# LIBVIRT PYTHON

WORK_DIR_LIBVIRT_PYTHON="$WORK_DIR/python"
mkdir -p $WORK_DIR_LIBVIRT_PYTHON
cd $WORK_DIR_LIBVIRT_PYTHON

LIBVIRT_PYTHON_VERSION="v4.0.0"
git clone -b $LIBVIRT_PYTHON_VERSION --single-branch --depth 1 https://github.com/libvirt/libvirt-python .
git checkout $LIBVIRT_PYTHON_VERSION

sudo apt install -y python-dev

python setup.py build
python setup.py install


# CLEANUP

rm -r $WORK_DIR
sudo apt purge -y \
	gettext \
	libtool \
	autoconf \
	autopoint \
	pkg-config \
	xsltproc \
	libxml2-utils \
	libnl-3-dev \
	libnl-route-3-dev \
	libxml2-dev \
	libdevmapper-dev \
	libpciaccess-dev \
	intltool \
	python-dev

The above may vary depending on your Ubuntu setup. Just pay attention to errors regarding missing tools.

Now check for the symbols you needed:

sudo apt install -y binutils
nm -g /usr/local/lib/libvirt.so

 

I recommend compilation attempts inside an isolated environment.