[Python-Dev] Moving Python 3.5 on Windows to a new compiler

[Brian Curtin]

On Fri, Jun 6, 2014 at 11:42 PM,  <dw+python-dev at hmmz.org> wrote:
> On Sat, Jun 07, 2014 at 05:33:45AM +1000, Chris Angelico wrote:
>
>> > Is it really any difference in maintenance if you just stop applying
>> > updates to 2.7 and switch to 2.8? If 2.8 is really just 2.7 with a
>> > new compiler then there should be no functional difference between
>> > doing that and doing a 2.7.whatever except all of the tooling that
>> > relies on the compiler not to change in micro releases won’t
>> > suddenly break and freak out.
>
>> If the only difference between 2.7 and 2.8 is the compiler used on
>> Windows, what happens on Linux and other platforms? A Python 2.8 would
>> have to be materially different from Python 2.7, not just binarily
>> incompatible on one platform.
>
> Grrmph, that's fair. Perhaps a final alternative is simply continuing
> the 2.7 series with a stale compiler, as a kind of carrot on a stick to
> encourage users to upgrade? Gating 2.7 life on the natural decline of
> its supported compiler/related ecosystem seems somehow quite a gradual
> and natural demise.. :)

Adding features into 3.x is already not enough of a carrot on the
stick for many users. Intentionally leaving 2.7 on a dead compiler is
like beating them with the stick.