making python scripts backwards compatible

[Fredrik Lundh]

Martin v. Loewis wrote:

> >     he pointed out that there is little point in adding language
> >     features to [the Python interpreter] if [library] development
> >     is anchored to old language versions
> >
> > fwiw, the latest PIL still works with 1.5 (and maybe earlier).  if Guido
> > thinks that affects his work on the interpreter in any way, I'd say he
> > needs a vacation ;-)
>
> That is taken out of context, though: [library] really was [standard
> library]. There was a request to restrict the standard library to
> older Python versions

I think you lost a [portions of] somewhere in there ;-)

which was the point of the PIL remark: major portions of the
standard library can be made platform-independent with very
little work, and that won't affect the interpreter development
in any way.

(if the standard library is the only place where the core deve-
lopers can gain experience from using new language features,
I'm not sure we should add any new language features...)

</F>