Booleans, integer division, backwards compatibility; where is Python going?

[James Logajan]

"Brian Quinlan" <brian at sweetapp.com> wrote:
> Unicode was too important not to add to the language, even if it did
> cause a few headaches. But the addition was done in a manner that
> favored compatibility over optimal semantics.

Unicode is nice. So are all the other features that are being added to 2.x. 
It is that "x" in 2.x is growing large at an alarming rate and these 
"minor" releases are not minor in the colloquial meaning.

> What is the total amount of time that you have spent resolving
> compatibility problems?

Probably a few days and some worried nights. But the context of how these 
problems cropped up and the unease they imparted were also important.

> What language are you going to use instead of
> Python?

As I've said elsewhere, I don't know. I'll look again in not less than 6 
months. Might look at Lua or Ruby to start.

> Please list some languages that are very forward and backwards
> compatible between releases.

None are, so the next best thing is to look for ones that have a manageable 
number of extant releases.