Re: [PATCH 0/6] Transition git-p4.py to support Python 3 only

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Dec 10, 2021, 21:34 UTC
Message-ID: <xmqqsfv0m9f5.fsf@gitster.g>
In-Reply-To: <211210.86r1ale0o0.gmgdl@evledraar.gmail.com>

Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason <avarab@gmail.com> writes:

Show 11 quoted lines

> On Thu, Dec 09 2021, Joel Holdsworth wrote:
>
>> Python 2 was discontinued in 2020, and there is no longer any officially
>> supported interpreter. Further development of git-p4.py will require
>> would-be developers to test their changes with all supported dialects of
>> the language. However, if there is no longer any supported runtime
>> environment available, this places an unreasonable burden on the Git
>> project to maintain support for an obselete dialect of the language.
>
> Does it? I can still install Python 2.7 on Debian, presumably other OS's
> have similar ways to easily test it.

Yes, that is a good point to make against "we cannot maintain the half meant to cater to Python2 of the script". Developers should be able to keep and test Python2 support, if it is necessary.

So the more important question is if there are end-users that have no choice but sticking to Python2. Is there distributions and systems that do not offer Python3, on which end-users have happily been using Python2? If some users with vendor supported Python2 do not have access to Python3, cutting them off may be premature.

As the general direction, I do not mind deprecating support for Python2, and then eventually removing it. I just do not know if 2 years is long enough for the latter (IIRC, the sunset happened at the beginning of 2020, and we are about to end 2021).

Thanks.