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[Python-Dev] public visibility of python-dev decisions "before it's too late"

Antoine Pitrou solipsis at pitrou.net
Wed Mar 16 00:14:42 CET 2011 
On Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:46:37 -0400
Lennart Regebro <regebro at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > Right - and that's why the deprecation period is not about supporting
> > multiple versions, but to reduce the need for people to adjust their
> > code on a quick notice.
> 
> I think we need to adjust PEP 5 then. We can't keep on breaking
> backwards compatibility like this.

"We"?
You must understand that compatibility rules are quite a burden when it
comes to evolving Python's APIs. Making these rules even stricter would
probably reduce motivation to contribute to Python for at least some
developers (be they core developers or not).

Beside, if you need long-term support, there is a well-known solution:
turn to a company that provides such support. That company can be called
Redhat, Canonical, ActiveState or even Apple. The community of
volunteers called python-dev is already doing quite a lot in that area.

> People are already freaked out
> about Python 2 to Python 3, and the argument is often used against
> Python that it's not a language to be used in enterprise situations
> because Python keeps on breaking backwards compatibility.

This sounds like FUD. Again, such companies can just rely on a
commercial vendor to provide support.

Regards

Antoine.
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