[Brendan O'Connor wrote]
>  Thanks for all the help!  I finally got it working, but weirdly, it
>  came down to how python's shared library loader works on OS X.
>  
>  A default python build on OS X uses Python/dynload_next.c (as in
>  NeXT), which knows how to load shared libraries that are "bundles". 
>  This loader is what fails to load _xpcom.so / lib_xpcom.dylib and
>  throws the ImportError, "Inappropriate file type for dynamic loading".
>   From what I gather from some apple docs, the functions used in
>  dynload_next.c can only load bundles, and but not load normal shared
>  libraries.  I can't believe this is right, since my dynload_next built
>  python uses all sorts of swig-wrapped shared libraries that don't look
>  like bundles, but whatever, it doesn't work for pyxpcom's shared
>  libraries.

Our custom Python build (the same ActivePython package that we build)
uses dynload_next.c as well.


>  Apple's build of python uses the library loader
>  Python/dynload_shlib.c, the standard unix-y one.  (Thank god for the
>  saved lib/python2.3/config/Makefile !)  If I build my own python using
>  that one via DYNLOADFILE=dynload_shlib.o, I can load _xpcom.so just
>  fine, and run the pyxpcomxul test extension!

Are you sure? The system Python on Panther (10.3) seems to use
dynload_next
    
    # /System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.3/lib/python2.3/config/Makefile
    # line 157
    ...
    DYNLOADFILE=    dynload_next.o
    ...

Whoa, interesting, the system Python 2.3 build for Tiger (10.4) switched
to dynload_shlib.
    
    DYNLOADFILE=    dynload_shlib.o

However, the Python 2.4 distro from the MacPython guys uses
dynload_next.o. I couldn't find any relevant discussion from some quick
searching.
    

>  No one else has ever run into this thing?  I feel like I just spent a
>  ton of time with the most obscure problems ever..

PyXPCOM is working for us on Mac OS X (both on Panther and Tiger) using
dynload_next.o and Python 2.4. You seem to be using Python 2.3. Perhaps
there is something in that.

Trent

-- 
Trent Mick
TrentM@[...].com
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