On 3/3/2014 12:54 PM, Steven D'Aprano wrote:
I think it is premature to be talking about what goes into Python 4.x, which is why I refer to it as "Python 4000". There's no concrete plans for a Python 4 yet, or even whether there will be a Python 4, what the last Python 3.x version will be,
Given that Guido does not want double-digit minor version numbers, 3.9, at the latest, will be followed by 4.0.
or what sort of changes will be considered.
There will be several deprecated items removed, such as http://docs.python.org/2/library/unittest.html#deprecated-aliases I think it would be worth making a consolidated list. I think a few modules that have replacements will be considered for removal. Optparse (if argparse is an adequate replacement)? Asyncore (if the new async catches on)? Changing the meaning of a core feature like float literals is a different matter.
But I would expect that any such Python 4 will probably be at least four years away, although given the extended life of 2.7 possibly more like eight.
3.5, ..., 3.9, 4.0 is 6 releases, which should be about 10 years.
(Given the stress of the 2->3 migration, I think *nobody* is exactly in a hurry for yet another backwards incompatible version. Perhaps we should be delaying such things until Python 5000.)
-- Terry Jan Reedy