I was doing find_package(Python3 COMPONENTS Interpreter Development) on Ubuntu bionic machines without specifying any hints for static or shared libs, so it found the shared libs which this application requires and all was well.
After upgrading the OS to focal it no longer found the shared libs (despite the docs saying it will search for shared first), so I had to provide the hint and then the shared libs were found and there was much rejoicing.
So that felt a bit like a surprise to me (shared libs being there but not being found unless hinting to search for them).
Then the second surprise is that if I provide the shared libs hint then the Python3_Development_FOUND variable is suddenly false (Interpreter_FOUND still true). Why is there a suspicious connection to shared libs here? Or have I misunderstood something?
Version is 3.21.
Sorry for wasting your time - it turned out that the python version I ended up getting here did not have a corresponding .so file. So that’s why I all of a sudden got the static one instead. Please close this.