[Python-Dev] [IMPORTANT] post 3.7.0b1 development now open

[Ned Deily]

Here we are: 3.7.0b1 and feature code freeze! Congratulations and
thanks to all of you who've contributed to the huge number of PEPs,
features, bug fixes, and doc changes that have gone into 3.7 since
feature development began back in September 2016, after 3.6.0b1,
3.6's feature freeze. Now that feature development for 3.7 is over,
the challenge is to put the finishing touches on the features and
documentation, squash bugs, and test test test.

In the cpython repo, there is now a 3.7 branch. Starting now, all PRs
destined for 3.7.0 should get cherry-picked from master to the 3.7
branch or just pushed to 3.7 if only applicable there. New features
should continue to be pushed to the master branch for release in 3.8;
no new features are now permitted in 3.7 unless you have contacted me
and we have agreed on an extension (and all granted extensions will
expire as of 3.7.0b2). As before, bug fixes appropriate for 3.6.x
should continue to be cherry-picked to the 3.6 branch. I've updated
the Developer's Guide to reflect the now current workflow. Let me
know if you find any bugs in it. Likewise, please contact me if you
have any questions about the workflow or about whether a change is
appropriate for 3.7 beta.

The cpython repo on Github has been updated. You should now find that
builds on the master branch produce a Python 3.8, rather than 3.7;
you may want to clean your build directory. And there is now a 3.7
branch that you will need to use for 3.7 builds and pushs. There were
several PRs that were merged to master over the last couple of days
since we started 3.7.0b1 release engineering. All but one of those
have been cherry-picked into the new 3.7 branch and you should have
seen messages for them. One was for a 3.8 feature and so was not
backported. At the moment, the new 3.7 buildbots may not be fully
operational but they should be soon. Likewise, the docs.python.org
may take up to 24 hours to reflect all the changes. Note that is the
first time we've done a feature freeze using our new git-based
workflow, so there's likely that there might be a glitch or something
overlooked. Please let us know if you suspect something or have a
question. I'll be around here and or #python-dev.

Also, don't forget to direct 3.8-related questions to Łukasz.  Welcome
on-board!

To recap:

2018-01-31: 3.7 branch open for 3.7.0; 3.8.0 feature development begins

2018-01-31 to 2018-05-21: 3.7.0 beta phase (no new 3.7 features)
   - push PRs for new features, bugs, regressions, doc fixes to the
        master branch for release in 3.8
   - cherry-pick or push PRs for 3.7.0 (bug/regression/doc fixes) to the
        new 3.7 branch
   - cherry-pick or push select PRs for important bug/regression/doc
        fixes to 3.6 and 2.7 branches as appropriate
   - propose PRs to 3.5 and 3.4 branches for any identified security issues

2018-02-26: 3.7.0 beta 2 (next beta preview)

2018-03-26: 3.7.0 beta 3 (3.7.0 ABI freeze)

2018-04-30: 3.7.0 beta 4 (only critical and urgent fixes after this point)

2018-05-21: 3.7.0 release candidate 1 (3.7.0 code freeze, only any
            emergency fixes afer this point)

2018-06-15: 3.7.0 release

2019-10-20: 3.8.0 release (next planned feature release, see PEP 569)


Thank you all again for your great efforts so far on 3.7!

--Ned