[Python-Dev] Moving the developer docs? (original) (raw)

Georg Brandl g.brandl at gmx.net
Thu Sep 23 18:25:38 CEST 2010

Am 23.09.2010 16:41, schrieb Barry Warsaw:

On Sep 23, 2010, at 09:06 AM, Benjamin Peterson wrote:

Are any of our docs subject to release schedules? I guess what I'm concerned about is this scenario: You're a developer who has the source code to Python 3.1. You read the in-tree docs to get a sense of how our development process works. Now, you're a diligent and eager new contributor so you follow those instructions to the letter. Unfortunately, Python 3.5 is the current version and we've changed key parts of the process. There's no possible way that your 3.1 in-tree docs can be updated to reflect the new process.

That's a pity, of course; however the small amount of bug reports we get that reflects content in old (= unsupported) library documentation suggests that it would not be a problem in practice: Most people look at docs.python.org anyway.

Okay, we can tell you to get the Python 3.5 code, or probably better yet, the Python 3.6 in-development trunk, but now we've got another dilemma. If we change the process in 3.6, there will be pressure to update the docs in 3.5 and previous versions that are still officially maintained. And what about security-only versions of Python?

Well, with Mercurial we're supposed to check in all changes to the oldest branch they apply to. If everyone changing the dev docs keeps to that, all supported versions will have up-to-date docs.

Georg

-- Thus spake the Lord: Thou shalt indent with four spaces. No more, no less. Four shall be the number of spaces thou shalt indent, and the number of thy indenting shall be four. Eight shalt thou not indent, nor either indent thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to four. Tabs are right out.

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