python / python/cpython

Building Python 3.12.11 on Linux makes 2 copes of very large libpython3.12.a file

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build performance topic-installation type-bug
Dominant language
Python
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Description

Bug report

Bug description:

When I build Python 3.12.11 from source code on Linux, the result includes 2 copies of the libpython3.12.a file which is about 56 megabytes in size!

File locations

  • <prefix>/lib/libpython3.12.a
  • <prefix>/lib/python3.12/config-3.12-x86_64-linux-gnu/libpython3.12.a

I presume one of those is supposed to be a symbolic link to the other, or maybe the entire <prefix>/lib/python3.12/config-3.12-x86_64-linux-gnu directory is not supposed to be included in the installation?

Is this something that everyone is experiencing, or am I likely doing something wrong that is causing this to happen for me?

CPython versions tested on:

3.12

Operating systems tested on:

Linux

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reproducing a Python 3.12.11 source build on Linux and inspect the two reported libpython3.12.a locations: /lib and /lib/python3.12/config-3.12-x86_64-linux-gnu. Compare the installed files and build or installation behavior to determine whether the duplicate is expected. Done means the issue is explained or the installation produces the intended single-copy arrangement.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
build-system
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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