Backwards Compatibility of Python versions

[Jeff Shannon]

Paul Rubin wrote:

> ...So I wonder now, whether more people are using 2.1.* than
> 1.5.2, and whether there will still be a significant amount of 2.1
> installations when 3.0 is released.  If it sounds like there won't be,
> then I'll probably just put
>
>    if 3/2==1: <print upgrade-to-new-script message and exit>
>
> at the top of my scripts and then code for 2.1.  When 2.1 gets more
> displaced by 2.2 and later, I can switch over to import future division.

My suspicion is that it's not that 2.0 never caught on, but that once 2.1
came out, there was no reason *not* to use it.... except for those
circumstances that had people stuck with 1.5.2.  Similarly, I think that
once 2.2 has been out for a bit longer (and more binary packages are built
for it--notably, I'm still waiting for ActivePython to have a 2.2final
release...), there won't be much reason to hang on to 2.1 (presuming, of
course, that RH8.0 uses 2.2 and not 2.1).  At least, that's what I'm
*hoping* will happen.  :)

Jeff Shannon
Technician/Programmer
Credit International