Can't create virtualenv using Python 3.2. Whodunnit? Pip or setuptools or Python 2.7?

Question

I can't properly install a Python 3.2 based virtual environment using virtualenvwrapper. I have hit a mystery wall and now I am looking for more options to solve my WHODUNNIT? predicament.

Some background

I first tried to install virtualenvwrapper using pip 1.5.6 from Python 2.7 (system's Python default). When I was trying to uninstall/upgrade my pip somehow I broke it. Now if I try:

$ pip 
    Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.2/dist-packages/distribute-0.6.28-py3.2.egg/pkg_resources.py", line 2816, in <module>
    working_set.require(__requires__)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.2/dist-packages/distribute-0.6.28-py3.2.egg/pkg_resources.py", line 690, in require
    needed = self.resolve(parse_requirements(requirements))
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.2/dist-packages/distribute-0.6.28-py3.2.egg/pkg_resources.py", line 592, in resolve
    raise VersionConflict(dist,req) # XXX put more info here
pkg_resources.VersionConflict: (pip 7.1.2 (/usr/local/lib/python3.2/dist-packages), Requirement.parse('pip==1.5.6'))

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/local/bin/pip", line 5, in <module>
    from pkg_resources import load_entry_point
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.2/dist-packages/distribute-0.6.28-py3.2.egg/pkg_resources.py", line 2820, in <module>
    parse_requirements(__requires__), Environment()
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.2/dist-packages/distribute-0.6.28-py3.2.egg/pkg_resources.py", line 588, in resolve
    raise DistributionNotFound(req)
pkg_resources.DistributionNotFound: pip==1.5.6

However, I managed to install PIP3.2.

$ pip3.2 --version
pip 7.1.2 from /usr/local/lib/python3.2/dist-packages (python 3.2)

So I proceeded to install virtualenvwrapper with no problem:

$ sudo pip3.2 install virtualenvwrapper

This is where Python 3.2 resides

$ whereis python3.2.3 
whereis python3.2.3
python3.2: /usr/bin/python3.2 /etc/python3.2 /usr/lib/python3.2 /usr/bin/X11/python3.2 /usr/local/lib/python3.2 /usr/include/python3.2 /opt/Python-3.2/bin/python3.2 /usr/share/man/man1/python3.2.1.gz

This is my virtualenv version:

$ virtualenv --version
14.0.6

Error

Before making a virtualenv I modified my .bashrc

export WORKON_HOME=$HOME/.virtualenvs
export PROJECT_HOME=$HOME/admin/workspace
export VIRTUALENVWRAPPER_PYTHON=/usr/bin/python3
export VIRTUALENVWRAPPER_VIRTUALENV=/usr/local/bin/virtualenv
source /usr/local/bin/virtualenvwrapper.sh

After sourcing it (i.e. source ~/.bashrc) I just can't manage to start a virtualenv.

$ mkvirtualenv --python=/usr/bin/python3.2 venv
Running virtualenv with interpreter /usr/bin/python3.2
New python executable in /home/admin/.virtualenvs/venv/bin/python3.2
Also creating executable in /home/admin/.virtualenvs/venv/bin/python
/usr/local/lib/python3.2/dist-packages/virtualenv-14.0.6-py3.2.egg/virtualenv_support/pip-8.0.2-py2.py3-none-any.whl/pip/_vendor/pkg_resources/__init__.py:87: UserWarning: Support for Python 3.0-3.2 has been dropped. Future versions will fail here.
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.2/dist-packages/virtualenv-14.0.6-py3.2.egg/virtualenv.py", line 2304, in <module>
    main()
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.2/dist-packages/virtualenv-14.0.6-py3.2.egg/virtualenv.py", line 705, in main
    symlink=options.symlink)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.2/dist-packages/virtualenv-14.0.6-py3.2.egg/virtualenv.py", line 924, in create_environment
    download=download,
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.2/dist-packages/virtualenv-14.0.6-py3.2.egg/virtualenv.py", line 843, in install_wheel
    cert_data = pkgutil.get_data("pip._vendor.requests", "cacert.pem")
  File "/usr/lib/python3.2/pkgutil.py", line 573, in get_data
    loader = get_loader(package)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.2/pkgutil.py", line 461, in get_loader
    return find_loader(fullname)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.2/pkgutil.py", line 471, in find_loader
    for importer in iter_importers(fullname):
  File "/usr/lib/python3.2/pkgutil.py", line 427, in iter_importers
    __import__(pkg)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.2/dist-packages/virtualenv-14.0.6-py3.2.egg/virtualenv_support/pip-8.0.2-py2.py3-none-any.whl/pip/__init__.py", line 15, in <module>

After the error if I type...

$ workon
$

Funny thing is the venv is created in .virtualenvs

Possible causes

Reading elsewhere in the web (I found just one person having a similar problem) it could be solved using a previous version of virtualenv (I tried that to no success), or maybe I'm using an incorrect combination of pip and/or virtualenv and/or virtualenvwrapper. Or perhaps it's my Python2.7 messing around in the background.

UPDATE: Setuptools

Or what about setuptools? Apparently it has to do. I was getting this error when trying with PIP 1.5.6

 UserWarning: Support for Python 3.0-3.2 has been dropped. Future versions will fail here.
 warnings.warn(msg)

ANOTHER UPDATE: Fixed the original pip

I managed to fix original pip using:

$ wget https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py
$ sudo python get-pip.py
$ pip --version 
pip 8.0.3 from /usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages (python 2.7)

UPDATE: Virtualwrapper isn't!

In my own 'Whodunnit' saga I'd say virtualwrapper has nothing to do. Here:

$ virtualenv -p /usr/bin/python3.2 ~/.virtualenvs/venv32
Running virtualenv with interpreter /usr/bin/python3.2
New python executable in /home/admin/.virtualenvs/venv32/bin/python3.2
Also creating executable in /home/admin/.virtualenvs/venv32/bin/python
/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/virtualenv_support/pip-8.0.2-py2.py3-none-any.whl/pip/_vendor/pkg_resources/__init__.py:87: UserWarning: Support for Python 3.0-3.2 has been dropped. Future versions will fail here.

But problem still persists. What else could I try?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

You must use pip < 8 and virtualenv < 14 if you want to use Python 3.2. See also https://virtualenv.pypa.io/en/latest/changes.html#id7

Why do you need to use ancient Python 3.2? The best thing you can do would be to install and use the far superior Python >= 3.4 instead.