Python 2.0 release candidate 1

[Jeremy Hylton]

Python 2.0c1 is released.  The BeOpen PythonLabs and our cast of
SourceForge volunteers have fixed many bugs since the beta releases
last month.  Please pick up the new release at

    http://www.pythonlabs.com/products/python2.0/

There's a tarball, a Windows installer, RedHat RPMs, online
documentation, and a long list of fixed bugs.

The final release of Python 2.0 will be next week.  We would
appreciate feedback on the release candidate in order to fix any
remaining bugs before the final release.  Confirmation of build and
test success on less common platforms is also helpful.n

All major reported bugs have been fixed in the release candidate.  We
do not plan to make any changes between now and the final release,
except to fix bugs reported in the next week.  We encourage potential
users of Python 2.0 to try the release candidate with their programs
and report any remaining bugs.

To report a new bug, use the SourceForge bug tracker
http://sourceforge.net/bugs/?func=addbug&group_id=5470

Python 2.0 has many new features, including the following:

  - Augmented assignment, e.g. x += 1
  - List comprehensions, e.g. [x**2 for x in range(10)]
  - Extended import statement, e.g. import Module as Name
  - Extended print statement, e.g. print >> file, "Hello"
  - Collection of cyclical garbage

For a fuller discussion of the changes in Python 2.0, please see the
article "What's New in Python 2.0" by Andrew Kuchling and Moshe Zadke:
http://starship.python.net/crew/amk/python/writing/new-python/

-- Jeremy Hylton <http://www.python.org/~jeremy/>