[Python-Dev] PEP 394 request for pronouncement (python2 symlink in *nix systems) (original) (raw)

Nick Coghlan ncoghlan at gmail.com
Wed Feb 15 01:14:35 CET 2012

On Wed, Feb 15, 2012 at 12:44 AM, Barry Warsaw <barry at python.org> wrote:

On Feb 14, 2012, at 12:38 PM, Nick Coghlan wrote:

One other thing I'd like to see the PEP address is a possible migration strategy to python->python3.  Even if that strategy is "don't do it, man!". IOW, can a distribution change the 'python' symlink once it's pointed to python2?  What is the criteria for that?  Is it up to a distribution?  Will the PEP get updated when our collective wisdom says its time to change the default?  etc. I have no idea, and I'm not going to open that can of worms for this PEP. We need to say something about the executable aliases so that people can eventually write cross-platform python2 shebang lines, but how particular distros actually manage the transition is going to depend more on their infrastructure and community than it is anything to do with us. Then I think all the PEP needs to say is that it is explicitly up to the distros to determine if, when, where, and how they transition.  I.e. take it off of python-dev's plate.

Yeah, good idea.

I'll also add an explicit link to the announcement of the Arch Linux transition [1] that precipitated this PEP.

[1] https://www.archlinux.org/news/python-is-now-python-3/

-- Nick Coghlan   |   ncoghlan at gmail.com   |   Brisbane, Australia

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