Installing Python 3.6 on Raspbian

3.6.5

Installing Python 3.6 on Raspbian
=================================

As of January 2018, Raspbian does not yet include the latest Python release, Python 3.6. This means we will have to build
it ourselves, and here is how to do it. There is also an ansible role attached that automates it all for you.

1. Install the required build-tools (some might already be installed on your system).

   .. code-block:: bash

        $ sudo apt-get update
        $ sudo apt-get install build-essential tk-dev libncurses5-dev libncursesw5-dev libreadline6-dev libdb5.3-dev libgdbm-dev libsqlite3-dev libssl-dev libbz2-dev libexpat1-dev liblzma-dev zlib1g-dev

   If one of the packages cannot be found, try a newer version number (e.g. ``libdb5.4-dev`` instead of ``libdb5.3-dev``).

2. Download and install Python 3.6. When downloading the source code, select the most recent release of Python 3.6, available
   on the `official site <https://www.python.org/downloads/source/>`_. Adjust the file names accordingly.

   .. code-block:: bash

        $ wget https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.6.8/Python-3.6.8.tar.xz
        $ tar xf Python-3.6.8.tar.xz
        $ cd Python-3.6.8
        $ ./configure --enable-shared
        $ make
        $ sudo make altinstall

3. Optionally: Delete the source code and uninstall the previously installed packages. When
   uninstalling the packages, make sure you only remove those that were not previously installed
   on your system. Also, remember to adjust version numbers if necesarry.

   .. code-block:: bash

        $ sudo rm -r Python-3.6.8
        $ rm Python-3.6.8.tar.xz
        $ sudo apt-get --purge remove build-essential tk-dev
        $ sudo apt-get --purge remove libncurses5-dev libncursesw5-dev libreadline6-dev
        $ sudo apt-get --purge remove libdb5.3-dev libgdbm-dev libsqlite3-dev libssl-dev
        $ sudo apt-get --purge remove libbz2-dev libexpat1-dev liblzma-dev zlib1g-dev
        $ sudo apt-get autoremove
        $ sudo apt-get clean

This guide is pretty much taken from the following tutorial:
https://liudr.wordpress.com/2016/02/04/install-python-on-raspberry-pi-or-debian/
and
https://gist.github.com/BMeu/af107b1f3d7cf1a2507c9c6429367a3b

raspbian-python3.6.yml

# An ansible role to configure python3.6 on a Raspberry Pi.
# to get started, ensure you have ansible installed:
#  $ sudo apt install ansible
# Then run this playbook:
#  $ ansible-playbook -i localhost, python3.6.yml
# Then you can get started:
#  $ python3.6
#
---
- hosts: all
  vars:
    version: 3.6.8
    threads: 4
  tasks:
    - name: "python{{version}} runtime&build dependencies"
      become: yes
      apt: name={{item}}
      with_items:
        - build-essential
        - tk-dev
        - libncurses5-dev
        - libncursesw5-dev
        - libreadline6-dev
        - libdb5.3-dev
        - libgdbm-dev
        - libsqlite3-dev
        - libssl-dev
        - libbz2-dev
        - libexpat1-dev
        - liblzma-dev
        - zlib1g-dev
    - name: "Download python{{version}}"
      get_url:
        url="https://www.python.org/ftp/python/{{version}}/Python-{{version}}.tar.xz"
        dest="/tmp/Python-{{version}}.tar.xz"
    - name: "Unarchive python{{version}}"
      unarchive:
        src="/tmp/Python-{{version}}.tar.xz"
        dest="/tmp/"
        copy=no
        creates="/tmp/Python-{{version}}"
    - name: "configure python{{version}} build"
      command: ./configure --enable-shared
      args:
        chdir: "/tmp/Python-{{version}}"
        creates: "/tmp/Python-{{version}}/Makefile"
    - name: "build python{{version}}"
      # not using make module to be able to use -j and creates option to fully skip step
      command: make -j{{threads}}
      args:
        chdir: "/tmp/Python-{{version}}"
        creates: "/tmp/Python-{{version}}/python"
    - name: "install python{{version}}"
      become: yes
      make:
        chdir: "/tmp/Python-{{version}}"
        target: altinstall