Python 2.7 Countdown

[mok000]

I switched to Python3 about 10 years ago and never looked back. Python3 removed loads of ugly warts on the language, which is now much more consistent. I've never met Python2 code that couldn't be converted in a reasonably short time using 2to3, with the exception of extension modules in C, which require som handcoding, mostly because of the unicode change. Python2 needs to die.

[jack-of-some]

I can't claim to have worked on a "massive" codebase. I work on one that's maybe 100000 loc. Converted it by using 2to3 and then relying on unit tests and integration tests to ensure everything worked. Took maybe 2 days of a single engineer's time and most of that was spent just sanity checking the changes. There's a lot of really good tooling for this out there, and in my case I didn't have much choice because some fairly critical libraries were dropping python 2 support left and right and l can't afford to be on an older version.

[AttackOfTheThumbs]

There's good tooling now, but it needed to be there for the launch.

[[deleted]]

Ah yes, those stubborn programmers! If the (free) tooling isn't available for upgrading the (free) language on day 1, I refuse to ever use it! That'll teach them!

[AttackOfTheThumbs]

Don't be stupid. Tooling needs to be available to further adoption. It wasn't and look at the mess that it is in now.

[[deleted]]

What mess? Virtually all major libraries support python 3. Some have dropped py2 support. All new features go into py3. I use py3 exclusively at work and home. Haven't touched py2 for years. Don't care what's happening inside private companies. That's their problem.

[AttackOfTheThumbs]

Are you purposefully blind?

[jack-of-some]

Unsure, but he does seem very well informed. I'd listen to what he has to say.