
It’s time for Python 2.7 - wglb
http://eli.thegreenplace.net/2011/10/09/its-time-for-python-2-7/
======
raymondh
It seems like everyone is converging on 2.7. The commercial distributions from
ActiveState and Enthought are at 2.7. Apple's OS/X Lion ships 2.7. The major
linux distros are there. PyPy is at 2.7. Jython and IronPython are mostly 2.7
capable. And my understanding is the Google's AppEngine will be at 2.7 soon
enough.

This is the Long Term Support version of Python, the one that is currently
getting bug fixes and will continue to get bug fixes long into the future.

AFAICT, there are very few reasons to be using an older version of Python. By
now, most of major third-party modules are working with 2.7 so there shouldn't
be much holding you back.

~~~
LeafStorm
> so there shouldn't be much holding you back.

Four words: Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

~~~
sp332

      wget http://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.7/Python-2.7.tgz
      tar xvfz Python-2.7.tgz
      cd Python-2.7
      ./configure
      make
      su
      make altinstall
    

Note: use "make altinstall" to avoid damaging the system python.

~~~
sneak
If you have make or a compiler installed on a RHEL system (other than your
organizational build machine), you're Doing It Wrong.

~~~
cturner
I install from source to /opt. It's fast and it works. What's the downside of
this?

~~~
mattyb
I suspect sneak is implying that you should build packages on a build box,
then your other servers can just grab those instead of compiling themselves.
It's a good idea.

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Kliment
The only thing that I miss on 2.7 is psyco. I support a somewhat popular
python app in the open source world, and write a lot of python at the day job,
and I usually deploy an executable with bundled python interpreter, and 2.6,
because psyco does not work on 2.7, and makes a HUGE difference on 2.6

~~~
bobbyi
Have you tried pypy?

~~~
stock_toaster
pypy doesn't support gevent/eventlet, as far as I know. :(

Unfortunately, psyco isn't x86_64 compatible either. So if you want to use
psyco, you are "stuck" with python2.6 on x86.

~~~
wladimir
_pypy doesn't support gevent/eventlet, as far as I know. :(_

Not yet, indeed. But according to their site they do have a stackless version:
"PyPy can be configured to run in stackless mode, providing micro-threads for
massive concurrency". This sounds promising, and could be used to implement
gevent.

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malkia
My exposure with Python is through Motion Builder 2012 and 2009 (Deploy for
the first one, but due to asserts causing crash&exit, I develop with the
2009).

It was my first great exposure to python (I have some C, C++, lua, lisp behind
me). I have to say wasn't expecting Python 2.5.2 and Python 2.6.x? (2009 and
2012 respectively) to support each other, but with "import from future" and
other tricks I was able to get code working on both.

So thanks for the article, as my day job requires some more knowledge of it
(but personally I do not favor python)

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mumrah
Did not know about set and dict comprehensions - very nifty.

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dochtman
I just wish we could stop supporting 2.4.

