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Sunsetting Python 2

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61–70 of 733 posts

Re: Sunsetting Python 2

#61
So they are sun-setting it 12 years after having introduced its replacement.

I think there is a parallel with the .net Framework. .Net core is a similar breaking change (not the syntax of the language but very much so in term of core libraries and project types). I wouldn't be surprised if .Net full followed a similar timeline.

Re: Sunsetting Python 2

#62
In 2015, there was no way I could have moved to Python 3. There were too many libraries I depended on that hadn't ported yet.

In 2019, I feel pretty confident about using Python 3, having used it exclusively for about 18 months now.

For my personal use case at least, this timeline worked out well for me. Hopefully it works out for most everyone. I can't imagine they made this decision without at least some data backing it up.

Re: Sunsetting Python 2

#63
post #4
post #3

> If people find catastrophic security problems in Python 2, or in software written in Python 2, then volunteers will not help you. If you need help with Python 2 software, then volunteers will not help you. Well, isn't it the benefit of FOSS, that volunteers can, and in the case of such a critical piece, so much used as Python 2, in all probability will, step up. Doesn't have to be the same people as the core team i…

No, the benefit of FOSS is that if the group developing a product does not support it anymore, you are free to fork it and support it yourself. And I am sure we will see a fair share of people doing that. What I am not sure is of anyone doing so will have the shoulders to actually support it. Python 2.7 was released 1 decade ago. That's quite a long transition time.

Tongue in cheek comment; C was released 47 years ago and is still supported... but then again, that shows a very different philosophy between system languages and scripting languages.

Re: Sunsetting Python 2

#64
Every now and then a language like no other pops up: it's use is unusual and unusually long. Various biblical languages come to mind: Latin, Church Slavonic, Hebrew at one point. These languages are feature complete, and the fact that they didn't change was their main appeal.

I've always thought Python 2 might be headed for the languages. Which is fine, it's great to have a programming equivalent of Latin.

Re: Sunsetting Python 2

#65
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, the benefit of FOSS is that if the group developing a product does not support it anymore, you are free to fork it and support it yourself. And I am sure we will see a fair share of people doing that. What I am not sure is of anyone doing so will have the shoulders to actually support it. Python 2.7 was released 1 decade ago. That's quite a long transition time.

I wonder if they would have saved themselves five years of grief if they had done this five years ago.

Likely the case. A lot of foot dragging took place. By five years ago most things of use were py3, conversion was easier than ever (and easy enough).

More importantly, it would have stopped piles and piles of bleakly futured py2 codebases being written. That people were still writing new py2 code five years ago is terrible, and the long sunset is certainly greatly at fault here.

That people are still writing new py2 code now is just criminal.

Re: Sunsetting Python 2

#66
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, the benefit of FOSS is that if the group developing a product does not support it anymore, you are free to fork it and support it yourself. And I am sure we will see a fair share of people doing that. What I am not sure is of anyone doing so will have the shoulders to actually support it. Python 2.7 was released 1 decade ago. That's quite a long transition time.

I wonder if they would have saved themselves five years of grief if they had done this five years ago.

I don't think so. Five years ago a lot of the community wasn't ready and it probably would have resulted in the community splitting in two.

Now many important libraries have already moved to being Python 3 making the whole Python 2 ecosystem feel frozen.

Re: Sunsetting Python 2

#67
post #7

Some shared hosting providers are still offering Python 2.6 as their main offering.[1] Optionally, there's Python 3.2, probably the worst 3.x version. [1] https://www.hostgator.com/help/article/what-software-and-pro...

I was Googling “HostGator Python 3” and found you said the same thing last year on HN:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16808998

We knew in April 2014 that Python 2 was EOL in 2020.

Re: Sunsetting Python 2

#68
post #64

Every now and then a language like no other pops up: it's use is unusual and unusually long. Various biblical languages come to mind: Latin, Church Slavonic, Hebrew at one point. These languages are feature complete, and the fact that they didn't change was their main appeal. I've always thought Python 2 might be headed for the languages. Which is fine, it's great to have a programming equivalent of Latin.

... I'm sorry, but wouldn't the Latin equivalent be C... given Python is written in it, and most languages syntax is born from it.

Python is more like the English language... it's borrowed a bunch of stuff from many different languages and isn't even compatible with itself ;) (2 vs 3).

I mean, this is assuming with thing spoken languages are even at all similar to programming languages... which I don't think they are.

Re: Sunsetting Python 2

#69
post #64

Every now and then a language like no other pops up: it's use is unusual and unusually long. Various biblical languages come to mind: Latin, Church Slavonic, Hebrew at one point. These languages are feature complete, and the fact that they didn't change was their main appeal. I've always thought Python 2 might be headed for the languages. Which is fine, it's great to have a programming equivalent of Latin.

Latin is getting new words all the time. The Vatican is the official maintainer. Sometimes it gets grammar tweaks too.

Hebrew was completely replaced with modern Hebrew and gets new changes constantly.

Re: Sunsetting Python 2

#70
post #61

So they are sun-setting it 12 years after having introduced its replacement. I think there is a parallel with the .net Framework. .Net core is a similar breaking change (not the syntax of the language but very much so in term of core libraries and project types). I wouldn't be surprised if .Net full followed a similar timeline.

.Net 5 will be reuniting the brands (Though based on .net core). So the Core brand will be discontinued. Read more about it here: https://devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/net-core-is-the-future...
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