12 years of Python and only at v2.2

[Warren Postma]

> Python is high-quality: While it's matured for over a decade now,
> its developmental philosophy is so conservative it only recently
> reached version 2.2.

Numbers don't mean anything at all. They are monikers, means of knowing
what you have got. Python might have completely changed some internal 
bits between 2.1.1 and 2.2, and the numbers might not have changed much.

Type/Class integration seems to be a big change, but it was not heralded
by a big increase in version numbers. Would the same product be in some 
way using a less 'conservative' developmental philosophy, if Guido had 
called it 3.0? 4.0? 5.0?  Maybe it should be 25.0?  Would it be better 
that way? Worse?  no.  Either way, it would be exactly what it is 
already, which is neither Conservative nor Radical, but just doing the
right thing most of the time, and the wrong thing sometimes, at 
something slightly above but not remarkably higher, than the usual
rate at which human beings do things.  After all, Guido may be Smarter 
Than The Average Bear, but he's not omnipotent. (That was a Yogi Bear 
reference if you were interested.)

Warren