[Python-Dev] Status of Python in the Red Hat 7.1 beta

[Eric S. Raymond]

(Copying Michael Tiemann on this, as he can actually get Red Hat to move...)

Andrew Kuchling <akuchlin@cnri.reston.va.us>:
> A more critical issue might be why people haven't adopted 2.0 yet;
> there seems little reason is there to continue using 1.5.2, yet I
> still see questions on the XML-SIG, for example, from people who
> haven't upgraded.  Is it that Zope doesn't support it?  Or that Red
> Hat and Debian don't include it?  This needs fixing, or else we'll
> wind up with a community scattered among lots of different versions.

I've investigated this.  The state of the Red Hat 7.1 beta seem to be
that it will include both 2.0 and 1.5.2; there are separate python and
python2 RPMs.  This would be OK, but I don't know which version will be
called by "/usr/bin/env python".

Now hear this, Michael: *it should be 2.0*.  It's OK to have 1.5.2 available
as a compatibility hedge, but I haven't actually heard of any compatibility
problems in code not specifically designed to probe for them.  And there 
are several excellent reasons to push forward, beginning with garbage 
collection.

Please make sure the default Python in 7.1 is Python 2.  Among other things,
this will significantly help CML2 adoption, which I know you are interested
in.
-- 
		<a href="http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/">Eric S. Raymond</a>

No kingdom can be secured otherwise than by arming the people.  The possession
of arms is the distinction between a freeman and a slave. 
        -- "Political Disquisitions", a British republican tract of 1774-1775