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The download link for Python 3.0 is now featured prominently on the front page, above Python 2.6. I think this is a bad move, since many Python newbies will pro

The download link for Python 3.0 is now featured prominently on the front page, above Python 2.6. I think this is a bad move, since many Python newbies will probably download Python 3.0 instead of 2.6, and then get frustrated when none of their 3rd-party packages work. python.org should keep Python 3.0 more hidden away for the time being to give time for the greater Python development community to migrate to 3.0.

babo 18y ago
A base python installation is good enough for most of the tasks for a newbie. Python 3.0 is out in a quite stable form for early migration testing, it's not as bad as you describe.
cpr 18y ago
Babo's right--remember that Python is "batteries included," which means all the standard libraries (which cover a huge range of uses) are already 3.0-ized.
- lunchbox 18y ago
  Good point. But http://www.python.org/download/ http://www.python.org/download/ says in its discussion of 2.6/3.0: "if you don't know which version to use, start with Python 2.6." To me, this advice is inconsistent with the layout on the front page, since most people who don't know what to use will click on the 3.0 link.
  - etal 18y ago
    They could be going for two different types of user: A) Brand-new programmer or language nomad who wants to dive right into Python. It's for personal enrichment, so they might as well learn the latest dialect and not pick up archaic habits. B) Wary/professional programmer, or someone who wants to get something else done and thought Python might do the trick. This is the user who will actually bother to stop and read the instructions on the download page, probably because something else they want to use says it requires Python. (Perhaps a library with skimpy documentation.) If it works right away, they'll keep using Python; if not, they'll probably blame Python as a whole instead of the particular version they downloaded and use some other language to solve their problem. Anyone in charge of a real production system is presumably beyond the "I guess I'll try Python" stage and is able to find out exactly which version they need.

babo 18y ago

A base python installation is good enough for most of the tasks for a newbie. Python 3.0 is out in a quite stable form for early migration testing, it's not as bad as you describe.

cpr 18y ago

Babo's right--remember that Python is "batteries included," which means all the standard libraries (which cover a huge range of uses) are already 3.0-ized.

lunchbox 18y ago
Good point. But http://www.python.org/download/ http://www.python.org/download/ says in its discussion of 2.6/3.0: "if you don't know which version to use, start with Python 2.6." To me, this advice is inconsistent with the layout on the front page, since most people who don't know what to use will click on the 3.0 link.
- etal 18y ago
  They could be going for two different types of user: A) Brand-new programmer or language nomad who wants to dive right into Python. It's for personal enrichment, so they might as well learn the latest dialect and not pick up archaic habits. B) Wary/professional programmer, or someone who wants to get something else done and thought Python might do the trick. This is the user who will actually bother to stop and read the instructions on the download page, probably because something else they want to use says it requires Python. (Perhaps a library with skimpy documentation.) If it works right away, they'll keep using Python; if not, they'll probably blame Python as a whole instead of the particular version they downloaded and use some other language to solve their problem. Anyone in charge of a real production system is presumably beyond the "I guess I'll try Python" stage and is able to find out exactly which version they need.