[Python-Dev] Smoothing the transition from Python 2 to 3

[Neil Schemenauer]

[I've posted something about this on python-ideas but since I now
have some basic working code, I think it is more than an idea.]

I think the uptake of Python 3 is starting to accelerate.  That's
good.  However, there are still millions or maybe billions of lines
of Python code that still needs to be ported.  It is beneficial to
the Python ecosystem if this code can get ported.

My idea is to make a stepping stone version of Python, between 2.7.x
and 3.x that eases the porting job.  The high level goals are:

- code coming out of 2to3 runs correctly on this modified Python

- code that runs without warnings on this modified Python will run
  correctly on Python 3.x.

Achieving these goals is not technically possible.  Still, I want to
reduce as much as possible the manual work involved in porting.
Incrementally fixing code that generates warnings is a lot easier
than trying to fix an entire application or library at once.

I have a very early version on github:

    https://github.com/nascheme/ppython

I'm hoping if people find it useful then they would contribute
backwards compatibility fixes that help their applications or
librarys run.  I am currently running a newly 2to3 ported
application on it.  At this time there is no warning generated but I
would rather get a warning then have one of my customers run into a
porting bug.

To be clear, I'm not proposing that these backwards compatiblity
features go into Python 3.x or that this modified Python becomes the
standard version.  It is purely an intermediate step in getting code
ported to Python 3.

I've temporarily named it "Pragmatic Python".  I'd like a better
name if someone can suggest one.  Maybe something like Perverted,
Debauched or Impure Python.

Regards,

  Neil