[Python-Dev] PEP 394 - Clarification of what "python" command should invoke

[Barry Warsaw]

On Sep 19, 2014, at 10:23 AM, Donald Stufft wrote:

>My biggest problem with ``python3``, is what happens after 3.9.

FWIW, 3.9 by my rough calculation is 7 years away.

>I know Guido doesn’t particularly like two digit version numbers and it’s
>been suggested on this list that instead of 3.10 we’re likely to move
>directly into 4.0 regardless of if it’s a “big” change or not.
>
>If that is the case, then all of the user education, ui, etc around
>``python3`` would then need to be again updated to ``python4`` *OR* we’d need
>a ``python3`` bin which points to ``python4``. If there’s a call to action
>for at some point moving ``python`` to invoke Python 3.x at some point then
>hopefully at that point Python 4.x could just be ``python``.
>
>All of this assuming of course that 4.0 isn’t a major break like 3.0 and that
>we do 4.0 instead of 3.10 as has been suggested.

I seem to recall Guido saying that *if* there's a 4.0, it won't be a major
break like Python 3, whatever that says about the numbering scheme after 3.9.

Is 7 years enough to eradicate Python 2 the way we did for Python 1?  Then
maybe Python 4 can reclaim /usr/bin/python.

Cheers,
-Barry
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