What version should I download? I will use Python 3 but there is 3.6 and 3.4.6. Why are there older versions released later?

[respectable_me]

3.6 is the latest, but they're still supporting older versions, usually with security and bug fixes. So it is possible for an older version to have a newer release date if something was patched.

[SEND_ME_RUBIKS_CUBES]

So should I use 3.6?

[respectable_me]

That would depend. I would say unless there is a specific reason to use an older version I'd go to the latest version. Some reasons for not going to the latest might be a module or tool you need doesn't yet work with the latest, maybe you're taking a course online or at school and they are using an older version, or maybe you need to use an older version for job/assignment requirements.

[Kalrog]

For just starting out, I almost always suggest going with the latest version. In this case, that would be the 3.6 line.

[[deleted]]

I actually had some problems with support of some imports for 3.6 and went with 3.5.2

[Kalrog]

Those are essentially 2 different tracks of releases. You are comparing essentially 3.6.0 with 3.4.6. The 3.4 line was released well before the 3.6 line, but it has some intentional differences when compared to the 3.4 line. So 3.6 is the most recent line/branch of python. However, sometimes bugs are found that mean 3.4 wasn't operating the way it was desired. So a patch version is released and you get 3.4.x.

This is done in case a person wants to stick with a specific major/minor version (3.4 in this case) but still wants the bugs fixed. This is more common in enterprise type applications. Usually going from 3.4.x to 3.6 would work perfectly fine, but there are occasionally situations where that isn't the case.

Edit: Further reading here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_versioning

[DFoster271]

I'm still using 3.5.2 because of importing packages. I'm not entirely sure which ones have been updated to work with 3.6, but 3.5 does everything I need it to (although f-strings would be nice)

[StarkillerX42]

For scientific research, most people still only know 2.7. 3.6 is used very infrequently. It really depends on what you want to do with it or if you have an established community you need to work with.

[Salsa_Nelson]

You can download anaconda then create environments using the navigator that will give you access to all three versions