[Python-Dev] [Python-3000] RELEASED Python 3.0 final

Terry Reedy tjreedy at udel.edu
Thu Dec 4 17:47:22 CET 2008


Guido van Rossum wrote:

>> Python 3.0 (a.k.a. "Python 3000" or "Py3k") represents a major milestone in
>> Python's history, and was nearly three years in the making.  This is a new
>> version of the language that is incompatible with the 2.x line of releases,

I think this

>> while remaining true to BDFL Guido van Rossum's vision.  Some things you
>> will notice include:
>>
>> * Fixes to many old language warts
>> * Removal of long deprecated features and redundant syntax
>> * Improvements in, and a reorganization of, the standard library
>> * Changes to the details of how built-in objects like strings and dicts work
>> * ...and many more new features
>>
>> While these changes were made without concern for backward compatibility,

and this could give some people a mis-impression, most likely negative, 
as to the magnitude and nature of the change.  Most of the code I am now 
writing would, I believe, run with 2.5 except for print(..., file=xxx). 
  And I know that there was concern for backward compatibility to the 
point that some changes were rejected (renaming builtins) or delayed 
(deleting duplicate test asserts) for that reason.  So I would soften 
the statements to "... version of the language that is partially 
incompatible with... " and "were made without being bound by backward 
compatibility,"

tjr



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