Re: [PATCH] Third try at documenting command integration requirements.

From: Michael Haggerty <mhagger@alum.mit.edu>
Date: Nov 27, 2012, 11:49 UTC
Message-ID: <50B4A8E1.7050801@alum.mit.edu>
In-Reply-To: <20121126214134.GA1713@thyrsus.com>

On 11/26/2012 10:41 PM, Eric S. Raymond wrote:

Show 6 quoted lines

> The next things on my git to-do list are 
> [...]
> 2. Submit a doc patch containing guidelines that (a) Python scripts should
>    check for their floor version and error out gracefully if they won't
>    run with the host's interpreter, and (b) Python scripts sbould be
>    2.6-compatible.

OK, now let's discuss *which* minimum Python version that git should support in the hypothetical new world...

Data point: Mercurial supports Python 2.4 - 2.7 with the following explanation [1]:

    We will continue to support Python 2.4 as long as it doesn't
    present a significant barrier to development. Given that Python 2.5
    and later don't contain any features that we're dying to use, that
    may be a long time off. [...]

    We also will continue to support Python 2.x as long as there is a
    significant installed base in the form of Red Hat Enterprise Linux
    and Ubuntu LTS users. RHEL 5, which uses Python 2.4, will reach the
    end of the "production 2" portion of its lifecycle in Q1 2014 and
    the end of its regular lifecycle in 2017.

It would be a shame to leave RHEL 5 users behind if Python is used to implement important git functionality. Python 2.4 is missing some of Python's shiny new features, but still quite OK. What features would you miss the most if we were to target Python 2.4 instead of 2.6?

Michael

[1] http://mercurial.selenic.com/wiki/SupportedPythonVersions

-- 
Michael Haggerty
mhagger@alum.mit.edu
http://softwareswirl.blogspot.com/