[Python-3000] Does anyone remember the Red Hat 1.5->2.x fiasco?

[Neal Becker]

Guido van Rossum wrote:

> On Feb 4, 2008 5:52 AM,  <skip at pobox.com> wrote:
>> This discussion of what to install Python 3.0 as reminded me that we've
>> already encountered this problem before.  As I recall, when Python 2.0
>> was released Red Hat steadfastly refused to ship it with their then
>> current
>> version of Linux.  It wasn't until the next RH product came out that they
>> shipped Python 2.x, and then the executable was called (I think) python2.
>>
>> I no longer remember the details very well, but I wonder if there's
>> a lesson to be learned from that experience as we decide how to install
>> Python 3.0.
> 
> IMO the lesson to be learned is that that was a bad idea -- other
> vendors have not followed suit. It also gave Python a bad name because
> for years, typing "python" on Red Hat systems gave you an ancient
> version.
> 

That was unfortunate.  What they should have done, IMO, is install python as
a link to the latest version.  Where they had tools that had not been
ported, those tools should have explicitly said #!/usr/bin/python1.5.

Would be even nicer if python could say:
require python_version >= x.y
or some such.