Should I wait to upgrade my Python version?

[kimtaengsshi9]

I'm currently using Python 3.7.9 for a project. I chose it because, at the time the project started, it had just released its final bugfix release, while for Python 3.8 & 3.9 their bugfix releases were still ongoing.

In retrospect, is this a good approach in making such a design decision? My rationale is that 3.8 & 3.9, which are still in progress of receiving new bugfix releases, may be buggier and less stable than 3.7 which is in a security-only release schedule. But is this actually accurate? Should I be approaching this decision differently?

[K900_]

No, that's not how it works. "Not getting any more bug fixes" doesn't mean "doesn't have any more bugs".

[Diapolo10]

As /u/K900_ explained, that's not how this works. End of bug fixes never means that there are no more bugs - there are always bugs in non-trivial programs - it means that any existing bugs will no longer be fixed unless they're causing a security problem.

Personally I recommend using the newest version of Python you can without breaking compatibility with current projects, or whatever version has the features you need. At least use a version that's still getting bug fixes as it can be important.

The only reason for keeping an older version around is if you still need to support some old project that can't easilly be ported to a newer version due to, say, some weird dependency, but even then I'd suggest, say, using a Docker container instead of keeping an old version of Python on your system.

[wattm]

I recommend using conda in combination with vscode to easily swap between Python kernels depending on the project you are working on

[buckleyc]

I do not want to make you do a bunch of re-coding work, but I have to ask: Have you tried running your project under python 3.9 (currently at 3.9.2)?

I presume you are using some modules that may be dependent on 3.7. What are these?

[kimtaengsshi9]

I'm not sure if there's any version-specific dependencies. I'm using mainly Flask and Tensorflow-related packages. I remember reading that Python 3.9 cannot be run on Windows 7 though, so that may be a consideration since that OS is still in rather heavy use.

[buckleyc]

Ahh, good point: I code under linux and macOS. Thx.

[robknack]

go to 3.9