[Slackbuilds-users] RFC: SlackBuild to Install Newer Python to /opt

[Lumin Etherlight]

Hello, friends,

        I was  trying to  package magic-wormhole[1],
  but found out that it requires Python 3.10+, which
  is newer than the  version available in Slackware.
  I solved  this by compiling a  python3-opt version
  of python,  that installs to /opt,  without effect
  on the base Python install.

        I also wrote a SlackBuild for magic-wormhole
  that installs pre-built wheels for the package and
  all of its dependencies into a venv, then packages
  it as  an installation to /opt  too.  the wormhole
  executables are then copied  to /usr/bin, and they
  work as  expected; they automatically use  the new
  /opt Python installation, since they set it as the
  shebang #!  interpreter,  thus using the libraries
  installed in that venv.

        Wormhole works, all  dependencies are in the
  /opt/magic-wormhole-bin  venv, the  Python install
  it uses is in /opt/python3.  This seems to be some
  reasonable  method to  package such  applications.
  Close to  a typical -bin package,  but for Python,
  basically.  The  final wormhole package  is 26MiB,
  so not  too bloated.  Other applications  that may
  depend on  newer Python3  versions can  perhaps do
  the same, until we hopefully get a newer Python in
  Slackware.  No internet  connection is required at
  build-time for  this method; all  dependencies are
  listed in the .info file as expected.

        I have submitted  both scripts; python3-opt,
  and magic-wormhole-bin, for your consideration and
  review.  I don't expect them to be published soon,
  of course,  as this approach is  not traditionally
  used in  SlackBuilds, so it will  likely take some
  discussion, testing, and improvement.  On my side,
  python3-opt was tested on clean Slackware installs
  fully patched,  for both 32bit and  64bit.  As for
  magic-wormhole-bin, it works on 64bit for now, and
  that's where I  tested it.  It fails  on 32bit, in
  an isolated venv, with  some Rust compiler errors,
  as one  of the dependencies compiles  something at
  some point,  probably a Python plugin.   I haven't
  had time to debug this yet.

  Feedback is, as always, much appreciated :)

[1]: https://magic-wormhole.readthedocs.io/


Best Regards,
Lumin Etherlight