Comment # 9 on bug 1169468 from pgnd _

(In reply to Tom de Vries from comment #4)
> So, to me it looks like you have a broken system python. I cannot comment on
> the root cause, but it seems increasingly likely that there is no gdb issue
> here.

hm, unclear on the provenance of those packages in system python -- as being
too old a version, I never explicitly use it for dev.  and, I never installed
them explicitly.

nice catch.

some remnants from a python-app install?  need to dig; they're installed on a
number of Leap machines.  looks like something 'needed' a more modern Paste
mod, which, from pypi (pip install) is the 3.x version ...

that said, I manually mv'd ALL the non-distro-package-originated files in
/usr/lib/python3.6/site-packages out of the way in order to test.


now, from 'within' my v3.8-dev pyenv

    pyenv global
        3.8-dev
    python -V
        Python 3.8.2+

pyenv's gdb

    gdb --version
        GNU gdb (GDB) 10.0.50.20200414-git
        Copyright (C) 2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
        License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later
<http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>
        This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
        There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

and system's gdb,

    /usr/bin/gdb --version
        GNU gdb (GDB; openSUSE Leap 15.1) 8.3.1
        Copyright (C) 2019 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
        License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later
<http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>
        This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
        There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

with NO error.

so, appears you're correct -- 'broken' system python.

WHY broken eludes me, for the moment.

I _suspect_ initially bad alternative python installs, prior to current pyenv's
reliable usage; or, possibly a local dev effort.

if so, sounds safest to ensure that system-installed python is never 'touched'
with any pip-, or otherwise dev-, module installs -- at least without a venv in
place.

for my multi-version needs, as here, that's solved by using pyenv+pipenv

so, closing as PEBKAC(-ish); feel free to reopen if/as further warranted.