Installing Python 3.8.2 and PyCharm Community on CentOS 7

I recently was accepted into Stanford’s ‘Code In Place’ class. We’re instructed to use PyCharm and Python 3.8 to complete the class. I had to solve a number of problems in order to get everything running on CentOS 7. 

If I was going to do it again, I would do it in this order and save myself a few interim steps and four-letter words.

From a shell terminal:

sudo yum -y install openssl-devel bzip2-devel libffi-devel

sudo yum install gcc

sudo yum -y install wget

wget https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.8.2/Python-3.8.2.tgz

tar xvf Python-3.8.2.tgz

cd Python-3.8.2/

./configure –enable-optimizations

sudo make altinstall

curl https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py -o get-pip.py

sudo python get-pip.py

sudo unlink /usr/bin/python

sudo ln -s /usr/local/bin/python3.8 /usr/bin/python

With my browser I downloaded the PyCharm Community Version for Linux from here:

https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/download/download-thanks.html?platform=linux&code=PCC

Then back in the terminal 

sudo tar xvfz pycharm-community-2017.3.2.tar.gz -C /opt/

sudo /opt/pycharm-community-2017.3.2/bin/pycharm.sh

Everything seems to work as expected now.

I hope this helps!