I have Python on my Ubuntu system, but gcc can't find Python.h

Question

I am on a school computer, so I can\'t install anything.

I am trying to create C code which can be run in Python. It seems all the articles I am finding on it requi

Answer 1

On Ubuntu, you would need to install a package called python-dev. Since this package doesn't seem to be installed (locate Python.h didn't find anything) and you can't install it system-wide yourself, we need a different solution.

You can install Python in your home directory -- you don't need any special permissions to do this. If you are allowed to use a web browser and run a gcc, this should work for you. To this end

1. Download the source tarball.

2. Unzip with

   tar xjf Python-2.7.2.tar.bz2
   

3. Build and install with

   cd Python-2.7.2
   ./configure --prefix=/home/username/python --enable-unicode=ucs4
   make
   make install
   

Now, you have a complete Python installation in your home directory. Pass -I /home/username/python/include to gcc when compiling to make it aware of Python.h. Pass -L /home/username/python/lib and -lpython2.7 when linking.