Booleans, integer division, backwards compatibility; where is Python going?

[Tim Peters]

[Paul Rubin]
> ...
> C is not stagnant (C implementations keep improving) but it is mature
> and stable.  If I download an interesting new C program today, I can
> probably build and run it on my 5 year old Debian 1.x system without
> upgrading my C compiler.

That's because vendors have been incredibly sluggish in implementing the
current C standard.  Once they do, you'll have about as much chance of
compiling new C programs with your current compiler as you have of compiling
"ANSI C" programs under a K&R C compiler.  It could be users and vendors
will kill C99 through indifference; I'm not sure should be a fan of that
outcome, since you're one who seems to believe its new features in support
of portable floating-point numerics are important.  OTOH, if you use its new
features, you can forget about passing your code out to people without a C99
implementation.

"stable"-in-your-sense-is-akin-to-planned-obsolescence-ly y'rs  - tim