I agree. "Python" to me means "Python 2.4" -- all the rest is just sugar. I have no reason to "upgrade". However, one way to get people to upgrade is to have

I agree. "Python" to me means "Python 2.4" -- all the rest is just sugar. I have no reason to "upgrade". However, one way to get people to upgrade is to have BACKWARD COMPATIBILITY. Yes, I know, Python developers consider backward compatibility some sort of noose, but it is the only thing that permits forward-going change without losing the existing user base. It would be easy, too: at the beginning of each file, have """Python 2.4""" (etc) and everything would "just work". There would be no need to wait for anybody to make libraries compatible with new versions. The Python developers have done us all a huge disservice by ignoring full backward compatibility. And while I appreciate all of the time and effort they have donated to the community, I believe this one single issue, backward compatibility, matters most.