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I have installed a Python package as usual using pip install package_name. It contains the main/most relevant file in the form of .so extension. I want to MODIFY it and use it for my work. Is it even possible to do it. Is there a background/underlying code for the .so file in python/.. that comes along with the package or is it a standalone program?

Peedaruos
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    `.so` files are usually the linux equivalent to windows `.DLL`, or macos `.DYLIB` shared library/resources files - it is probably a bad idea to modify them. https://www.lifewire.com/so-file-4150722 – Reblochon Masque Dec 27 '21 at 02:53
  • I understand, but still, the package comes as open source, ..can be modified, distributed, bla bla bla: "This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by ...". Is it effectively nothing – Peedaruos Dec 27 '21 at 03:16

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Go to the site whence pip fetches things, find your package, and follow the link to its source distribution. Building that yourself often requires more tools and expertise than usingpip, which is the cost of customization. (The GPL, despite being more restrictive (in this peculiar sense) than most Free licenses, certainly allows merely providing Internet access to the sources for binaries so distributed.)

Davis Herring
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