wrong python lib found when building VTK

[Gordon Klaus]

CMake finds the system Python (2.4) instead of the one built as part of FEniCS (2.7, which is on the PATH, and is the one that runs when I type 'python'). This manifests itself as
*** Warning: [...]FEniCS/lib/vtk-5.6/libvtkCommonPythonD.so.5.6: undefined symbol: Py_InitModule4
*** Warning: Unable to import Viper, plotting disabled.
when I import dolfin. (For some reason, the libpython2.4.so on my system doesn't export any symbols.)

VTK 5.6.1 uses an old version of CMake (2.4): VTK/CMake/FindPythonLibs.cmake doesn't know about Python 2.7. When I include '2.7' in the line
FOREACH(_CURRENT_VERSION 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.3 2.2 2.1 2.0 1.6 1.5)
the problem goes away.

VTK 5.8 uses CMake 2.8, which doesn't have this problem.

[Harish Narayanan (hnarayanan)]

I have updated the VTK package to fetch VTK 5.8.0. Does it work now?

[Gordon Klaus (gordon-klaus)]

Yep, I removed the old VTK and rebuilt. It works.