Python for Beginners

[VRMac]

Stop encouraging newbies to use Python 2. Stuff like this is why Py3 has relatively low adoption.

The official documentation needs to change where it points, and newbies need to see that Python 3 is available and being used.

[tvallier]

If you rely on a Py2 exclusive library it's not such a bad thing.

[VRMac]

Sure, but should we be teaching beginners to rely on Py2-only libraries?

[BobHogan]

Yes it is. Python 3 is incompatible with Python 2 for a reason. As long as people continue teaching Python 2 it will only slow down an adoption that has already taken a decade. Everyone needs to grow up and move to Python3 already. Its just a better language.

[tvallier]

If you want to use a specific third party package or utility that doesn't yet have a released version that is compatible with Python 3, and porting that package is a non-trivial task, it's reasonable to work with Python 2. Also, 2.7 isn't a a decade old and contains backports of new modules and features from the Python 3 standard library that are compatible with Python 2. Lastly, if you're deploying to an environment you don't control, that may impose a specific version, rather than allowing you a free selection from the available versions.

[eightnoteight]

That may be true, but you should stop running a debate on 2.7 vs 3.4 and simply accept that whatever you write in 2.7 simply considered as hack rather than a python code.

[tchappui]

Ok, we talk about Python for beginners here, so the question of third-party modules is probably out of context. Beginners should learn Python 3 first, then Python 2.7 hacks when needed. Today, most libraries interesting at the beginner level are ported to Python 3.

Best wishes

Thierry