Maintenance release? (Was RE: Variables different between .py and .pyc)

[Aahz Maruch]

In article <mailman.989308751.18640.python-list at python.org>,
Tim Peters <tim.one at home.com> wrote:
>[Aahz Maruch, on a proposed change to make .pyc/.pyo files store
> repr(float) instead of str(float)]
>
>> Ouch.  This is the kind of situation where I was thinking that a
>> distinction between "bugfix release" and "maintenance release" might
>> be useful.  OTOH, it's hard to imagine a case where fixing this
>> would make things worse....  I mean, really, what could this break?
>
>Perhaps you have no experience with floating-point code <2/3 wink>?
>Over the years I've spent a good (distributed) half year of my life
>tracking down gross problems in numerically naive algorithms triggered
>by measly 1-bit differences.  This is a much bigger change than that.
>Even a good algorithm will return *different* results, and of course
>some people will scream "different" == "broken".  You can't fix *any*
>bug that changes a result without somebody feeling abused.

Yes; I'm not going to get into arguments with *you* about floating
point.  ;-)  I guess my sarcasm was a little too subtle: I think you'd
agree that anyone who's writing code based on Python's current behavior
has code that's already broken.  Their code will overall be no more
broken with this fix (remember, every time they modify their .py,
they'll get wrong results for one run), and at least they'll finally get
consistent results.

My opinion on whether this "can" go into a bugfix release depends on
whether you and Guido think this needs a .pyc magic number upgrade.  If
the magic number changes, this has to be dropped.  Period.  Otherwise, I
don't have a strong opinion about which way this goes.  An amusing side
effect of fixing this particular bug is that someone who generates a
.pyc in 2.1.1 (and 2.0.1 if we fix it there, too) who gives that .pyc to
someone running 2.1 will automatically "fix" the problem for that
person, too.  That behavior may in fact make this bugfix a Bad Idea.
-- 
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