[Python-Dev] Support the /usr/bin/python2 symlink upstream

[Matthias Klose]

On 04.03.2011 08:44, Kerrick Staley wrote:

[looking at version 88755 of the draft]

+1 on anything what is said about python2 (still remembering the unsuccessful
proposal from one of the Chicago language summits).

I do not like the vagueness about the python link.  Sounds like "It may point to
this or that, but it might change, and it might break, maybe we'll change our
position later, in some years".

This recommendation is imo wrong:

  For the time being, it is recommended that python should refer to python2,
  except on distributions which include only python3 in their base install, or
  those that wish to push strongly for migration of user scripts to Python 3.

Maybe some distributions already did decide on this, but it's definitely not
something which will help compatibility across distributions.

Further down in a note,

  It is suggested that even distribution-specific packages follow the
  python2/python3 convention [...]

The note should be a recommendation, and the recommendation a note.  Cross
platform compatibility should be recommended.

The rationale of the proposal only gives a rationale for the python2 link, not
for the vagueness of the python link, and when to use it, e.g. to use the most
recent interpreter interactively (as suggested by Martin v. Loewis), or to only
use it for 2.x and 3.x compatible scripts.

>From a Debian/Ubuntu perspective I see python2.7 in the distribution for at
least two more (LTS) releases (i.e. the next 4-5 years) to run old code or code
abandoned by upstreams.  I only see extra work with this code, when changing
python to point to python3, while I do not see a disadvantage to use python3
(which was part of python3.x from the beginning) for the packaging inside a
distribution.

so -1 on the python link bits.

  Matthias