Using virtualenv with Anaconda requires LD_LIBRARY_PATH changes but breaks Emacs

StackOverflow https://stackoverflow.com//questions/21029912

Question

I am experiencing an issue similar to the issue described in this post and this post but which I believe is different (or at least is not answered by any of the answers or comments at those linked articles). I have also found this Google groups reply stating not to use LD_LIBRARY_PATH with Anaconda, but feel it is incorrect.

  1. I set up virtualenv and virtualenvwrapper, as explained here.

  2. I installed Anaconda to /home/usrname/anaconda

  3. I tried to create a virtualenv for Anaconda like this:

    mkvirtualenv anaconda -p /home/usrname/anaconda/bin/python

but received the following errors that indicate the whole finding-system-python-instead-of-downloaded-2.7.5-python Acaconda issue:

espears@espears-w:~/anaconda/bin$ mkvirtualenv anaconda -p /home/espears/anaconda/bin/python
Running virtualenv with interpreter /home/espears/anaconda/bin/python
New python executable in anaconda/bin/python
Installing setuptools, pip...
  Complete output from command /home/espears/anacon.../anaconda/bin/python -c "import sys, pip; pip...ll\"] + sys.argv[1:])" setuptools pip:
  Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<string>", line 1, in <module>
  File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/virtualenv_support/pip-1.5-py2.py3-none-any.whl/pip/__init__.py", line 3, in <module>
  File "/home/espears/anaconda/lib/python2.7/optparse.py", line 77, in <module>
    import textwrap
  File "/home/espears/anaconda/lib/python2.7/textwrap.py", line 10, in <module>
    import string, re
  File "/home/espears/anaconda/lib/python2.7/string.py", line 83, in <module>
    import re as _re
  File "/home/espears/anaconda/bin/anaconda/lib/python2.7/re.py", line 105, in <module>
    import sre_compile
  File "/home/espears/anaconda/bin/anaconda/lib/python2.7/sre_compile.py", line 14, in <module>
    import sre_parse
  File "/home/espears/anaconda/bin/anaconda/lib/python2.7/sre_parse.py", line 17, in <module>
    from sre_constants import *
  File "/home/espears/anaconda/bin/anaconda/lib/python2.7/sre_constants.py", line 18, in <module>
    from _sre import MAXREPEAT
ImportError: cannot import name MAXREPEAT
----------------------------------------
...Installing setuptools, pip...done.
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/virtualenv.py", line 2334, in <module>
    main()
  File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/virtualenv.py", line 820, in main
    symlink=options.symlink)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/virtualenv.py", line 988, in create_environment
    install_wheel(to_install, py_executable, search_dirs)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/virtualenv.py", line 956, in install_wheel
    'PIP_NO_INDEX': '1'
  File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/virtualenv.py", line 898, in call_subprocess
    % (cmd_desc, proc.returncode))
OSError: Command /home/espears/anacon.../anaconda/bin/python -c "import sys, pip; pip...ll\"] + sys.argv[1:])" setuptools pip failed with error code 1

I exported /home/espears/anaconda/lib/ to the LD_LIBRARY_PATH and then the virtualenv command worked with no problems at all. I could then do workon anaconda and it correctly located the anaconda 2.7.5 version of Python and everything was great.

But then I tried to launch Emacs, and it appears (as in the linked posts at the top) that somehow Anaconda's placement in LD_LIBRARY_PATH creates a problem for Emacs:

espears@espears-w:~$ emacs
Gtk-Message: Failed to load module "canberra-gtk-module"
emacs: symbol lookup error: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpangocairo-1.0.so.0: undefined symbol: cairo_ft_font_options_substitute

So the question is: what's going wrong? If I unset the contents of LD_LIBRARY_PATH then the anaconda virtualenv just uses the system default Python. But if I leave LD_LIBRARY_PATH alone, I cannot launch Emacs.

Added

Here is the output of ldd (which emacs) after exporting the needed things for Anaconda to LD_LIBRARY_PATH:

espears@espears-w:~$ export LD_LIBRARY_PATH='/home/espears/anaconda/lib/':$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
espears@espears-w:~$ ldd $(which emacs)
    linux-vdso.so.1 =>  (0x00007fff0a7fe000)
    libtiff.so.4 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libtiff.so.4 (0x00007f504f455000)
    libjpeg.so.8 => /home/espears/anaconda/lib/libjpeg.so.8 (0x00007f504f21e000)
    libpng12.so.0 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpng12.so.0 (0x00007f504eff5000)
    libm.so.6 => /home/espears/anaconda/lib/libm.so.6 (0x00000032b9600000)
    libgif.so.4 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgif.so.4 (0x00007f504edec000)
    libXpm.so.4 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXpm.so.4 (0x00007f504ebda000)
    libgtk-3.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgtk-3.so.0 (0x00007f504e552000)
    libgdk-3.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgdk-3.so.0 (0x00007f504e2d4000)
    libgio-2.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgio-2.0.so.0 (0x00007f504df84000)
    libgdk_pixbuf-2.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgdk_pixbuf-2.0.so.0 (0x00007f504dd64000)
    libpango-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpango-1.0.so.0 (0x00007f504db1b000)
    libcairo.so.2 => /home/espears/anaconda/lib/libcairo.so.2 (0x00007f504d841000)
    libgobject-2.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgobject-2.0.so.0 (0x00007f504d5f2000)
    libglib-2.0.so.0 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libglib-2.0.so.0 (0x00007f504d2fd000)
    libSM.so.6 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libSM.so.6 (0x00007f504d0f4000)
    libICE.so.6 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libICE.so.6 (0x00007f504ceda000)
    libX11.so.6 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libX11.so.6 (0x00007f504cba5000)
    libXrender.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXrender.so.1 (0x00007f504c99a000)
    libXft.so.2 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXft.so.2 (0x00007f504c785000)
    libasound.so.2 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libasound.so.2 (0x00007f504c498000)
    librsvg-2.so.2 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/librsvg-2.so.2 (0x00007f504c262000)
    libMagickWand.so.4 => /usr/lib/libMagickWand.so.4 (0x00007f504bf4d000)
    libMagickCore.so.4 => /usr/lib/libMagickCore.so.4 (0x00007f504baca000)
    librt.so.1 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/librt.so.1 (0x00007f504b8c1000)
    libdbus-1.so.3 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libdbus-1.so.3 (0x00007f504b67d000)
    libpthread.so.0 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpthread.so.0 (0x00007f504b460000)
    libxml2.so.2 => /home/espears/anaconda/lib/libxml2.so.2 (0x00007f504b114000)
    libgpm.so.2 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgpm.so.2 (0x00007f504af0e000)
    libtinfo.so.5 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libtinfo.so.5 (0x00007f504ace7000)
    libgconf-2.so.4 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgconf-2.so.4 (0x00007f504aab8000)
    libselinux.so.1 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libselinux.so.1 (0x00007f504a899000)
    libfreetype.so.6 => /home/espears/anaconda/lib/libfreetype.so.6 (0x00007f504a612000)
    libfontconfig.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libfontconfig.so.1 (0x00007f504a3db000)
    libotf.so.0 => /usr/lib/libotf.so.0 (0x00007f504a1c6000)
    libm17n-flt.so.0 => /usr/lib/libm17n-flt.so.0 (0x00007f5049fbb000)
    libm17n-core.so.0 => /usr/lib/libm17n-core.so.0 (0x00007f5049d8d000)
    libgnutls.so.26 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgnutls.so.26 (0x00007f5049ad1000)
    libc.so.6 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6 (0x00007f5049711000)
    libz.so.1 => /home/espears/anaconda/lib/libz.so.1 (0x00007f50494fb000)
    libgmodule-2.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgmodule-2.0.so.0 (0x00007f50492f7000)
    libpangocairo-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpangocairo-1.0.so.0 (0x00007f50490ea000)
    libXi.so.6 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXi.so.6 (0x00007f5048eda000)
    libXfixes.so.3 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXfixes.so.3 (0x00007f5048cd4000)
    libatk-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libatk-1.0.so.0 (0x00007f5048ab2000)
    libcairo-gobject.so.2 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libcairo-gobject.so.2 (0x00007f50488a8000)
    libpangoft2-1.0.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpangoft2-1.0.so.0 (0x00007f504867e000)
    libXext.so.6 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXext.so.6 (0x00007f504846d000)
    libXinerama.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXinerama.so.1 (0x00007f5048269000)
    libXrandr.so.2 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXrandr.so.2 (0x00007f5048061000)
    libXcursor.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXcursor.so.1 (0x00007f5047e57000)
    libXcomposite.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXcomposite.so.1 (0x00007f5047c53000)
    libXdamage.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXdamage.so.1 (0x00007f5047a50000)
    libresolv.so.2 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libresolv.so.2 (0x00007f5047833000)
    libpixman-1.so.0 => /home/espears/anaconda/lib/libpixman-1.so.0 (0x00007f50475b4000)
    libpng15.so.15 => /home/espears/anaconda/lib/libpng15.so.15 (0x00007f504737d000)
    libffi.so.6 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libffi.so.6 (0x00007f5047174000)
    libpcre.so.3 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpcre.so.3 (0x00007f5046f37000)
    libuuid.so.1 => /home/espears/anaconda/lib/libuuid.so.1 (0x00007f5046d33000)
    libxcb.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libxcb.so.1 (0x00007f5046b14000)
    libdl.so.2 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libdl.so.2 (0x00007f5046910000)
    libcroco-0.6.so.3 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libcroco-0.6.so.3 (0x00007f50466d6000)
    libgomp.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgomp.so.1 (0x00007f50464c7000)
    liblcms.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/liblcms.so.1 (0x00007f5046290000)
    liblqr-1.so.0 => /usr/lib/liblqr-1.so.0 (0x00007f504607c000)
    libbz2.so.1.0 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libbz2.so.1.0 (0x00007f5045e6b000)
    libltdl.so.7 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libltdl.so.7 (0x00007f5045c61000)
    /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00007f504f6ce000)
    libdbus-glib-1.so.2 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libdbus-glib-1.so.2 (0x00007f5045a3a000)
    libexpat.so.1 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libexpat.so.1 (0x00007f5045810000)
    libthai.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libthai.so.0 (0x00007f5045606000)
    libtasn1.so.3 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libtasn1.so.3 (0x00007f50453f5000)
    libgcrypt.so.11 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgcrypt.so.11 (0x00007f5045177000)
    libp11-kit.so.0 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libp11-kit.so.0 (0x00007f5044f64000)
    libXau.so.6 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXau.so.6 (0x00007f5044d60000)
    libXdmcp.so.6 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libXdmcp.so.6 (0x00007f5044b5a000)
    libdatrie.so.1 => /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libdatrie.so.1 (0x00007f5044954000)
    libgpg-error.so.0 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgpg-error.so.0 (0x00007f504474f000)
Was it helpful?

Solution

You can try either of these suggestions:

  1. unset LD_LIBRARY_PATH when you start emacs for instance by defining an alias: alias emacs='LD_LIBRARY_PATH= emacs'(mind the whitespace), or you could

  2. export LD_PRELOAD=$(ldd $(which emacs)|grep libpangocairo|awk '{print $3}') to force the use of the system-wide install libpangocairo library. But this might break anaconda.

OTHER TIPS

The reason you don't want to use LD_LIBRARY_PATH is that it changes the order of the dynamic library loaders search path. Because Anaconda tests all the libraries so they work together on all systems, it packages many libraries that are older than the system versions. The emacs you have is using an older system library which causes the crash.

Now the reason the mkvirtualenv is failing is that the python and other libraries linked with Anaconda aren't being copied over correctly and the link pointer in the dynamic libraries are broken.

The preferred solution is to use the conda tool to create environments. For example:

conda create -p ~/anaconda/envs/test2 anaconda=1.4.0 python=2.7 numpy=1.6

See http://docs.continuum.io/conda/examples/create.html

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