[Python-Dev] docs.python.org pointing to Python 3 by default? (original) (raw)

martin at v.loewis.de martin at v.loewis.de
Sat May 19 22:48:50 CEST 2012

I would like to suggest a less all-or-nothing approach. Just redirecting to Python 3 docs is going to create a lot of support headaches for people trying to help others learn Python.

I don't think this will be that bad. Most Python 3 documentation pages apply to Python 2 as well. There may be features documented that don't exist in Python 2, but it was always the case that users of older Python versions had to watch for the versionadded/versionchanged notices.

IMO, it would be good if each individual page had an "other versions" section on left-hand block, or on the top along with the "previous | next" links.

As for the amount of cross-linking, I suggest the following, assuming 2.7 and 3.3 are the current releases:

  1. 2.7 links to 2.6 and 3.3
  2. 3.3 links to 3.2 and 2.7
  3. all older versions link to "newest", i.e. 3.3.

I understand that this would require a custom mapping in some cases. It would be best if Sphinx could already consider such a mapping when generating links. Failing that, we can also do the custom mapping in the web server (i.e. with redirects).

Regards, Martin

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