This is a little alarmist. Python 2.x will continue to be around,
probably indefinitely. Its like fortran in that it has a lot of old
code around. I anticipate that Python 2.x will easily find a core of
developers willing to maintain its various implementations and its
standard library for years to come.
Python 3.0 should have just been named something like "Anaconda" or
"Boa" so people would not get confused by its eventual role. The idea
is to make a language that is more refined than its predecessor but
not to supplant its predecessor entirely, as the latter would be
unrealistic.
James
On Feb 1, 2008, at 3:10 PM, David J. Schuller wrote:
This could be interesting:
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,1000000121,39292561,00.htm
"Developers prepare for Python breakage
Angus Kidman ZDNet Australia
Published: 01 Feb 2008 10:43 GMT
The launch of version 3.0 of Python, expected within the next year,
will
see major changes to some fundamental elements of the programming
language, release manager Anthony Baxter explained in a keynote speech
at linux.conf.au in Melbourne.
Python is used extensively by Google for many of its products,
including
the popular YouTube video-sharing site.
"3.0 is also known as the release where we break all your code but
we're
doing it for a good reason," Baxter said. "Python is 16 years old.
Like
all 16-year-olds, it's got some really annoying features."
"Pretty much every program will need changes," Baxter said, but he
stressed that the shift would be some time in coming..."
--
James Stroud
UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics
611 Charles E. Young Dr. S.
Los Angeles, CA 90095
http://www.jamesstroud.com
