Linker failure when creating main binary with python-config --libs

[tiran]

BPO	37183
Nosy	@vstinner, @tiran

^{Note: these values reflect the state of the issue at the time it was migrated and might not reflect the current state.}

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GitHub fields:

assignee = None
closed_at = <Date 2019-06-06.20:21:00.593>
created_at = <Date 2019-06-06.19:55:36.479>
labels = ['interpreter-core', 'invalid', 'build', '3.8', '3.9']
title = 'Linker failure when creating main binary with python-config --libs'
updated_at = <Date 2019-06-06.20:32:08.824>
user = 'https://github.com/tiran'

bugs.python.org fields:

activity = <Date 2019-06-06.20:32:08.824>
actor = 'vstinner'
assignee = 'none'
closed = True
closed_date = <Date 2019-06-06.20:21:00.593>
closer = 'christian.heimes'
components = ['Interpreter Core']
creation = <Date 2019-06-06.19:55:36.479>
creator = 'christian.heimes'
dependencies = []
files = []
hgrepos = []
issue_num = 37183
keywords = []
message_count = 4.0
messages = ['344864', '344866', '344869', '344872']
nosy_count = 2.0
nosy_names = ['vstinner', 'christian.heimes']
pr_nums = []
priority = 'high'
resolution = 'not a bug'
stage = 'resolved'
status = 'closed'
superseder = None
type = 'compile error'
url = 'https://bugs.python.org/issue37183'
versions = ['Python 3.8', 'Python 3.9']

[tiran]

With 3.8 it is no longer possible to compile a custom Python interpreter with linker flags from python-config. The config helper omits the main Python library:

$ python3.8-config --ldflags
 -L/usr/lib64  -lcrypt -lpthread -ldl  -lutil -lm -lm

$ gcc  -L/usr/lib64  -lcrypt -lpthread -ldl  -lutil -lm -lm -o custompython custompython.o
/usr/bin/ld: custompython.o: in function `main':
custompython.c:10: undefined reference to `Py_BytesMain'
collect2: error: ld returned 1 exit status

[tiran]

python-3.8.pc also omits -lpython3.8:

$ pkg-config python-3.8 --libs

[tiran]

memo to me: read the **whole** what's new document.

https://docs.python.org/3.8/whatsnew/3.8.html#debug-build-uses-the-same-abi-as-release-build

[vstinner]

It is a deliberate change but matbe it is not well documented? Should we
update the C API doc?