python-config scripts contain flags to link with libpython

[rdb]

I understand from #69 that it is recommended that extension modules be compiled with references to the CPython ABI left undefined, and that libpythonX.Y.so is therefore intentionally left omitted from the docker image.

However, the python-config scripts in the Python installations still contain -lpythonX.Y options. It would be great if this could be removed so that build scripts that use python-config to detect Python installations work correctly.

[njsmith]

That sounds correct to me. Any chance you'd be interested in putting together a patch?

[rdb]

I poked around a bit and I think fixing this would involve either shipping our own version of python-config or monkey patching the existing one.

For Python 2.6 through 3.3, this command should work:
sed -i "s/'-lpython' *+ *pyver\( *+ *sys.abiflags\)\?/''/" path/to/pythonX.Y-config

3.4 and above use a shell script instead, for which this simpler replacement should work:
sed -i 's/-lpython${VERSION}${ABIFLAGS}//' /opt/python/cp34-cp34m/bin/python3.4m-config

Does this seem like an acceptable solution or is this too hacky?

[njsmith]

It's pretty hacky, but I don't see what else we can really do. IIUC it's a bug in upstream python-config (specifically, python-config and distutils should always do the same thing, and in this case it sounds like they aren't), and maybe we can fix that in future Python releases (and probably we should), but that's a slow process at best, and some of the Pythons we ship are EOL anyway.