[Python-Dev] Python 2.3a1's mandatory use of cyclic GC causes existing applications to fail

[Michael Hudson]

Robert Ledwith <rledwith@cas.org> writes:

> I do not believe my experiences will prove to be unique among the Python
> community.  Given this possibility, is it desirable to re-insert the
> logic to make the cyclic GC optional now, heading off potential problems
> that would surface only months from now, once Python 2.3 is officially rolled
> out and installed worldwide?

I'm not fully aware of all the issues, but I think that the
interaction between the sometimes-there-sometimes-not gc code and the
trashcan facility for safely deallocating deeply nested structures was
deeply confusing and was a motivation for making the GC code
non-optional.

So desirable or not, re-adding --without-cycle-gc may be *hard*.

Cheers,
M.

-- 
  It's a measure of how much I love Python that I moved to VA, where
  if things don't work out Guido will buy a plantation and put us to
  work harvesting peanuts instead.     -- Tim Peters, comp.lang.python