Python Redhat version issue
Question: > **Possible Duplicate:**  
>  [Upgrade python without breaking
> yum](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10624511/upgrade-python-without-
> breaking-yum)

I'm running a Redhat VM (2.6.18-274.el5 64 bit). I installed nodejs on the vm
in order to use browserstack. To get nodejs running I had to upgrade Python to
2.6 or above. I installed 2.7 from source using make altinstall. Then I
createda hard-link to point from 2.4 to 2.7. Checking the python -V now shows
2.7 being the default. That all worked out fine and node is now up and
running.

    
    
    There was a problem importing one of the Python modules
    required to run yum. The error leading to this problem was:
    
       No module named yum
    
    Please install a package which provides this module, or
    verify that the module is installed correctly.
    
    It's possible that the above module doesn't match the
    current version of Python, which is:
    2.7.2 (default, Jul  2 2012, 23:35:52) 
    [GCC 4.1.2 20080704 (Red Hat 4.1.2-51)]
    
    If you cannot solve this problem yourself, please go to 
    the yum faq at:
      http://wiki.linux.duke.edu/YumFaq
    

My problem is Yum. It's no longer working as its looking for the older version
of Python which is 2.4? Is there anyway I can have both of them working as in
Yum and node both using different versions?


Answer: There are two issues here. One is that you broke your system python. Yum is
installed in the python's site packages. If you damage python, yum will break.
Breaking the system python installation is a stupid idea. Maybe you made
backups, or have another sister machine from which you can transplant the
original 2.4 python.

The other issue is that there is no problem with having several pythons on the
same machine. To install Node.js you must simply tell it which python to use.
Set `PYTHON=/opt/local/my/path/to/python2.7/bin/python`, possibly `PYTHONHOME`
as well, before running `./configure` .

