Richard Brodie wrote:
"Peter Hansen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Python is exceptionally backwards compatible, so generally
code from an older version will run unchanged on newer
Pythons.
I'm just curious: why exceptionally? I like Python for a lot of
reasons but I wouldn't put API stability high on the list.
Not compared with a traditional language like C or Fortran,
anyway. Which languages go around breaking backwards
conmpatibility in a cavalier way?
Anything from Microsoft, for a start.
Anyway, you're confusing "instability" (I hate that word,
it has connotations of unreliability, which aren't intended)
with "enhancement". The API gets changed, yes, but by
adding new things, almost never by removing the old stuff
or changing how it works. You are free to ignore the new
stuff, and almost all old code will work unchanged. That's
what backwards compatibility means, not that no new features
are ever added.
-Peter
--
http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
