[Python-Dev] C-API status of Python 3?

[Christian Heimes]

Stefan Behnel wrote:
> The release schedule in PEP 3000 says "August 2008" for 3.0 final, is that
> still the current goal? Can I expect the C-API to stabilise by June, then?
> That's where we are planning a Cython workshop with a couple of sprints. Py3k
> support might be worth targeting - if we can rely on a fixed target by then.

Yes, August 2008 is still our goal. I still think it's a realistic goal.
The C API is mostly stabilized around May when we target the first beta.

> I actually expect the string semantics to be amongst the harder changes (at
> least, it's the most visible from a C-API point of view).
> 
> However, names are not a big problem if you generate code anyway. Behaviour is
> what matters most for Cython. And we're already trying to adapt Cython's
> syntax to Py3k's, although that's not a requirement in all cases, as Cython
> lives with a couple of differences already. Keeping old syntax around and
> mapping it to the new C-API makes it easier to migrate existing Cython code.

The semantics are easier in Python 3.x than in the 2.x series. Old style
classes are gone, longs are gone and integers are PyLong based, the
distinction between bytes and text is much easier ...

Christian