[Python-Dev] Python 4: don't remove anything, don't break backward compatibility

[Stefan Richthofer]

I don't see the point in this discussion.
As far as I know, the major version is INTENDED to
indicate backward-incompatible changes.
The meaning of the versioning scheme is literally

[API compatibility].[new features].[bug fixes],

isn't it?

So all you are asking for is never do produce a Python 4.x
This is not necessarily bad, for instance Java has never
increased its major version ever (it is still 1.7.x). An indeed,
it never dropped features, just "deprecated".

> I don't see any reason to bump 
> the major version number until after Python 3.9.

Even then, there is no need for 4.0; you can just have 3.10, 3.11 etc.


Cheers

Stefan



> Gesendet: Montag, 10. März 2014 um 16:04 Uhr
> Von: "Steven D'Aprano" <steve at pearwood.info>
> An: python-dev at python.org
> Betreff: Re: [Python-Dev] Python 4: don't remove anything, don't break backward compatibility
>
> On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 02:55:26PM +0100, Victor Stinner wrote:
> [...]
> > So can we please try to stop scheduling another major Python version
> > breaking almost all modules and all applications just to be pendantic?
> > 
> > No, we should not remove any old feature in Python 4. Python 4 should
> > be just a minor release following the previous 3.x release.
> 
> I often talk about "Python 4000" as the next possible opportunity for 
> major backwards incompatible changes, but of course that's not decided 
> yet, and given the long term pain of the 2->3 transition, it may be 
> quite conservative, with no radical changes. Perhaps I ought to use 
> Python 5000 as my target for radical language changes?
> 
> 
> > For example, I propose to release the next major Python version (3.5)
> > with the version 4.0 but without removing anything. (It's just an
> > example, it can wait another release.) 
> 
> If Python 4 is a conservative release, I don't see any reason to bump 
> the major version number until after Python 3.9. So, assuming no further 
> radical changes to the language like 2->3, we'd have five more point 
> releases before needing to deal with 4.0.
> 
> Perhaps we need a long-term schedule?
> 
> 3.5: August 2015
> 3.6: February 2017
> 3.7: August 2018
> 3.8: February 2020
> 3.9: August 2021
> 4.0: February 2023
> 
> give or take a few months.
> 
> 
> -- 
> Steven
> _______________________________________________
> Python-Dev mailing list
> Python-Dev at python.org
> https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-dev
> Unsubscribe: https://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-dev/stefan.richthofer%40gmx.de
>