> > > What is the best way to upgrade to Python 2.6 from the default Python > 2.4. > > > I've read these horror stories online and don't want to break yum. > > Hi. At least there are 2 ways that I have tried and work. The first: yum install gcc tcl tk sqlite-devel readline-devel gdbm-devel yum install tkinter ncurses-devel libdbi-devel tk-devel zlib-devel yum install openssl-devel bzip2-devel cd /opt # Python 2.7 so django and mod_wsgi work. wget http://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.7.3/Python-2.7.3.tgz tar -xzvf Python-2.7.3.tgz ./configure make make altinstall prefix=/opt/python2.7.3 cd /opt # Use a link for easier administration if you need to upgrade python2.7 later. ln -s /opt/python2.7.3 /opt/python2.7 # Add this alias to your /etc/bashrc file for all users or your ~/.bashrc file for yourself. alias python2.7='/opt/python2.7/bin/python2.7' make altinstall will install the new Python as Python2.7; it will not collide with your default Python (2.4.x in CentOS 5.x, 2.6.6 in CentOS 6.2). You run it using "python2.7" instead of "python". The second uses virtualenv as environment manager ( http://code.activestate.com/pypm/virtualenv/). I use it for a particular application, again no conflict with Python 2.4 under CentOS 5.6/7/8, or Python 2.6 in CentOS 6.2. These are the versions I have tried.