[Python-Dev] The end of 2.7

[Raymond Hettinger]

On Apr 6, 2013, at 2:02 PM, Benjamin Peterson <benjamin at python.org> wrote:

> we need to talk about how many more 2.7 releases there are
> going to be. At the release of 2.7.0, I thought we promised 5 years of
> bugfix maintenance, but my memory may be fuddled. 

I don't we need to make any "promises" beyond 5 years,
but I also think it is likely the 2.7 will end-up being a 
long-term maintenance version of Python.

At this year's Pycon keynote, I surveyed the crowd (approx 2500 people)
and all almost everyone indicated that they had tried out Python 3.x
and almost no one was using it in production or writing code for it.
That indicates that Python 2.7 will continue to be important for a good
while.  

In addition,  the other implementations of Python (Jython, PyPy, GAE, 
and IronPython) are all at or nearly at Python 2.7.   So, continued
support will be needed for their users as well.

After 2.7.4, I expect that the pace of real bug fixes will slow down,
but that we'll continue to improve docs, add docstrings, update IDLE, etc.

IMO, it is premature to utter the phrase "the end of 2.7".
Better to say, "2.7 is stable and is expected to only have minor updates".

Future point releases probably ought to occur "on their own schedule"
whenever there are a sufficient number of changes to warrant a release,
or an important security fix, or whenever the release managers have time.


Raymond

------

PYTHON 2.7      I'm not dead!
CART DRIVER     'Ere.  He says he's not dead.
LARGE MAN       Yes he is.
PYTHON 2.7      I'm not!
CART DRIVER     He isn't.
LARGE MAN       He will be soon. He's very ill.
PYTHON 2.7      I'm getting better!
LARGE MAN       You're not.   You'll be stone
                dead in a few minutes.


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