Ubuntu Python not complete

we usually don't install test suites in the binary packages; you can find the test suite in the source package and it is run during the build. Is there a reason why python should be handled specificly?

OK, I understand your policy, and it makes sense. But I think it would be important to explain this situation in the /usr/share/doc/python2.5/README.Debian
 (or wherever appropriate). The number of Python packages in a Debian(derived) distribution is really huge, and discovering the right package with the tests is a daunting task.

I have still been unable to locate them. Even the 'apt-file' tool has failed completely! (Yes, I have the sources repositories activated in /etc/apt/sources-list.)

I don't know about the whole Python test suite, but there are at least some tests that are interesting for general purposes. Modules such as test_dict, test_iter, test_list or test_sets are very convenient for testing custom containers which adhere to standard interfaces, and are expected to work reliably. With the introduction of Abstract Base Classes (ABC) in Python 2.6 , this kind of tests should become even more important.

Thank you for your interest!

please could you name all these test files which are used by other testsuites?

I am really just a Python beginner, and so, I don't really know, which are the important files here. But searching through the 'test' directory, the following files might be relevant:

list_test.py
mapping_tests.py
seq_tests.py
string_tests.py
test_abstract_numbers.py
test_array.py
test_decimal.py
test_defaultdict.py
test_deque.py
test_dict.py
test_enumerate.py
test_float.py
test_fractions.py
test_iter.py
test_list.py
test_set.py
test_sets.py
test_str.py
test_string.py
test_struct.py
test_structmembers.py
test_structseq.py
test_tuple.py
test_unicode.py

This breaks some of my code too. I've resorted to copying and pasting code from Python just so that it works on the broken Ubuntu system.

This bug was fixed in the package python2.7 - 2.7.4-1ubuntu4

---------------
python2.7 (2.7.4-1ubuntu4) raring; urgency=low

  * Build a libpython2.7-testsuite package. LP: #301629.
  * Add autopkg tests to run the installed testsuite in normal and debug
    mode.
  * Re-enable running the tests during the build.
  * Idle updates:
    - Issue #17657: Show full Tk version in IDLE's about dialog.
    - Issue #17613: Prevent traceback when removing syntax colorizer.
    - Issue #1207589: Backwards-compatibility patch for right-click menu.
    - Issue #16887: Now accepts Cancel in tabify/untabify dialog box.
    - Issue #14254: Now handles readline correctly across shell restarts.
    - Issue #17614: No longer raises exception when quickly closing a file.
    - Issue #6698: Now opens just an editor window when configured to do so.
    - Issue #8900: Using keyboard shortcuts in IDLE to open a file no longer
      raises an exception.
    - Issue #6649: Fixed missing exit status.
 -- Matthias Klose <email address hidden> Tue, 09 Apr 2013 17:53:02 +0200

This bug was fixed in the package python3.3 - 3.3.1-1ubuntu2

---------------
python3.3 (3.3.1-1ubuntu2) raring; urgency=low

  * Idle updates:
    - Issue #17657: Show full Tk version in IDLE's about dialog.
    - Issue #17613: Prevent traceback when removing syntax colorizer.
    - Issue #1207589: Backwards-compatibility patch for right-click menu.
    - Issue #16887: Now accepts Cancel in tabify/untabify dialog box.
    - Issue #17625: Close the replace dialog after it is used.
    - Issue #14254: Now handles readline correctly across shell restarts.
    - Issue #17614: No longer raises exception when quickly closing a file.
    - Issue #6698: Now opens just an editor window when configured to do so.
    - Issue #8900: Using keyboard shortcuts in IDLE to open a file no longer
      raises an exception.
    - Issue #6649: Fixed missing exit status.
  * Build a libpython3.3-testsuite package. LP: #301629.
  * Add autopkg tests to run the installed testsuite in normal and debug
    mode.
  * Re-enable running the tests during the build.
  * Add pyconfig.h compatibility headers. LP: #1094246.
 -- Matthias Klose <email address hidden> Wed, 10 Apr 2013 23:05:23 +0200