Question

I’m trying to install lxml, on an Ubuntu server running Python 2.6 (in a virtualenv – the system Python is 2.5).

I’ve checked out via svn and as a result I’ve also install Cython, as per the instructions.

However, I get the following error when running python setup.py build:

Building lxml version 2.3.alpha1-76211.
Building with Cython 0.11.
Using build configuration of libxslt 1.1.22
Building against libxml2/libxslt in the following directory: /usr/lib
running build
running build_py
running build_ext
cythoning src/lxml/lxml.etree.pyx to src/lxml/lxml.etree.c

Error converting Pyrex file to C:
------------------------------------------------------------
...
        c_child = _findChildForwards(c_node, 0)
        while c_child is not NULL:
            if c_child.type == tree.XML_ELEMENT_NODE:
                for i in range(c_tag_count):
                    if _tagMatchesExactly(c_child, c_ns_tags[2*i], c_ns_tags[2*i+1]):
                        c_next = _findChildForwards(c_child, 0) or _nextElement(c_child)
                                                               ^
------------------------------------------------------------

/home/admin/web/blink/lxml/src/lxml/cleanup.pxi:246:64: Cannot assign type 'int' to 'xmlNode *'

Error converting Pyrex file to C:


building 'lxml.etree' extension
gcc -pthread -fno-strict-aliasing -DNDEBUG -g -fwrapv -O3 -Wall -Wstrict-prototypes -fPIC -I/usr/include/libxml2 -I/home/admin/python/2.6.5/include/python2.6 -c src/lxml/lxml.etree.c -o build/temp.linux-x86_64-2.6/src/lxml/lxml.etree.o -w
src/lxml/lxml.etree.c:1:2: error: #error Do not use this file, it is the result of a failed Cython compilation.
error: command 'gcc' failed with exit status 1

And very similar errors if i try python setup.py bdist_egg, python setup.py build_ext -i or make

Trying to install via easy_install or pip produces the same error – although the former just hangs indefinitely.

As far as I am aware, all of the various dependencies, such as python-dev are installed.

What am I missing / doing wrong?

Answer 1

“I’ve checked out via svn” …

“Building lxml version 2.3.alpha1-76211″ …

You appear to be on the bleeding edge. Suggestions: Use a released version of the lxml source. Consult with the lxml author/maintainer.