[python-win32] Dropping support for Python 2.3?

[Vernon D. Cole]

Perhaps it is time...

I found a copy of Python 2.3 to load onto a new computer in order to test
my software, but it was not easy.  It is in the small print about four
pages down from the download page on python.org.  I was one of 432 people
who have downloaded the 2.3 installer for pywin32 build 218.  Compared with
121,351 downloaded installers for Python 3.3 and 2.7 combined, 431 is 0.35
percent of our users. I discounted myself, because the only reason I
downloaded the package was to make sure I have not broken something by
using a new feature.  I wonder how many of the others of that 432 are for
similar reasons.  Most, I would bet.

Supporting that zero point three percent is costly, in terms of lost
features.  Adodbapi is not a large module, but there are half a dozen
places in it which deal specifically with Python 2.3 -- such as "import
win32com.decimal.decimal_23 as decimal" for example.  There are two places
which work around not having generator expressions, and a big question in
the comments about handling the difference between long and int integers,
and whether that is done correctly. There is also a confusing code block
for float conversion with commas versus dots.  All of that goes away if I
simply change the "all versions of CPython later than,,," line.

The important differences in Python 2.4
* decimal.Decimal
* generator expressions
* built in set objects
* Decorators
* unified integers
* locale-independent float/string conversion
* reverse iteration

I am starting an informal poll...

Is it really worthwhile to keep maintaining support for Python 2.3, which
was released in 2005 and has not been updated since 2008?
--
Vernon
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