[Python-Dev] Python 2.6.3

[Ned Deily]

In article <9D506035-7C2D-4929-A134-E88EEB7B7D9E at python.org>,
 Barry Warsaw <barry at python.org> wrote:
> On Sep 9, 2009, at 1:29 PM, Ned Deily wrote:
> > The recent release of OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) has triggered a fair
> > amount of 2.6 bug tracker activity, since 10.6 now includes 2.6  
> > (2.6.1)
> > and a 64-bit version at that.   A number of patches have either just
> > been checked-in over the past couple of weeks or are getting some
> > exposure before check-in.  Given the timing and the (appropriate)
> > infrequency of 2.6.x releases, I think it would be unfortunate to push
> > 2.6.3 out the door without ensuring that it works well on 10.6.
> > Therefore, I propose that 2.6.3 should have 10.6 compatibility as a
> > "release goal".
> > Without trying to put Ronald on the spot (too much!), it would be a  
> > good
> > idea to get his assessment where things stand wrt 2.6 on 10.6 before
> > setting a final release date.
> 
> I'm hoping that Python won't have any issues building and running on  
> 10.6, but I don't have it yet so I can't personally test it out.
> 
> How would you quantify "works well"?  Do you have any thoughts on  
> tests you'd run other than the standard test suite?  If 2.6.3 is shown  
> to pass its test suite on 10.5.x, is that good enough?  Are the  
> specific bug fixes necessary for 10.6?

To follow-up, I've now run the usual "standard" OS X installer builds 
and regression tests using 2.6.3rc1 plus a few additional tests (IDLE 
and package installation) and have found no regressions from 2.6.2 and 
verified that some release-blocker problems have indeed been fixed.  In 
particular, Issue6957 regarding extensions module building on OS X 10.6 
is fixed as discussed in the issue.

The tests involved the target python.org installer configuration:

- deployment target = 10.3, 2-way i386/ppc, Tk 10.4, built on 10.5
     -> regrtest on 10.4 ppc, 10.5 ppc, 10.6 i386

plus the following additional configurations:

- deployment target = 10.3, 2-way i386/ppc, Tk 10.4, built on 10.4:
     -> regrtest on 10.4 ppc, 10.5 ppc, 10.6 i386

- deployment target = 10.5, 4-way i386/x86_64/ppc/ppc64, Tk 10.4, built 
on 10.5:
     -> regrtest on 10.5 ppc, 10.6 i386, 10.6 x86_64

plus, a quick check of the currently unsupported configuration, with no 
new regressions noted:

- deployment target = 10.6, 2-way i386/x86_64, Tk 10.5, built on 10.6:
     -> regrtest on 10.6 x86_64

As noted in various tracker issues, there are still a few unresolved 
issues with universal builds built on 10.6 (e.g. 32-bit vs 64-bit 
selection, IDLE with Tk 8.5) which is why this last installer build 
configuration is currently unsupported.

In my opinion, the standard python.org OS X installer for 2.6.3 now 
"works well" on 10.4, 10.5, and 10.6 and is ready for release.

-- 
 Ned Deily,
 nad at acm.org