[GTALUG] Installing Anaconda with Python 3 on 32 bit linux (Ubuntu ver 16.04 )

[D. Hugh Redelmeier]

| From: Stewart C. Russell via talk <talk at gtalug.org>

| One gotcha I had with Anaconda was that it usurped the system Python
| interpreter[s] in the user's path. Your /usr/bin/python won't change,
| but the one seen by env as a user might. Causes endless fun when
| installing packages.

Thanks for the warning.

This relates to my lightning rumination: "what is a distro?"

As a Linux user, it has been very convenient to delegate several
software maintenance tasks to the distro:

- selecting
- security auditing
- configuring
- testing
- bug fixing
- updating

I may not agree with all their choices, but it sure makes life easier.
I pick a distro based on how happy I am with the distro's choices.

Sometimes I install software that isn't provided by the distro.  A
little more work for me, but not a problem.

The trouble you mention comes from software that is partially from
inside the distro and partly from outside.  Python3 is part of Ubuntu
16.04.  But, Anaconda, part of the Python system is not part of
Ubuntu.  I assume you install it with pip.

If you actually change how Python3 behaves (as opposed to just adding
stuff), your distro's software could misbehave -- some is written in
Python3.

Similar problems arise with TeX (CTAN) and with Perl (CPAN) and who
knows what else.

Another variant of the problem arises when you need something more
modern than what the distro provides.  This is accute in RHEL because
it is so focussed on stability.

I think that Canonical's "Snaps" (and flatpak.org's "Flatpak's) are
meant to address this hard problem.  I don't know how well this works.