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I think it's important teach what's relevant in the current day, every likes to parrot the "Python 3 has no support" line but it's simply not true[1]. The deve

I think it's important teach what's relevant in the current day, every likes to parrot the "Python 3 has no support" line but it's simply not true[1]. The developers have said multiple times there will be no 2.8 and the 2.7 line will only receive security fixes. Python 3 is the future of Python and not teaching it to students would be a disservice to them. [1]: https://python3wos.appspot.com/ https://python3wos.appspot.com/

maxerickson 12y ago
Sure. My point is that nearly everything you learn about writing a program in 2.x is relevant to writing a program in 3.x. You do have to keep track of whether print is a statement or a function or how literals map onto types, and some libraries are imported using different names and some APIs have changed a bit, but if you understand all that jargon, it's not that big a deal (I'll repeat my disclaimer here about transitioning a significant code base being a different thing than managing the differences).
- Alupis 12y ago
  Well, yes, sure... core programming concepts are the same regardless of language used and/or version. However, from my experience, most students don't venture off on their own until after becoming very familiar with a language. Not all students are experimental enough to hack on personal projects for fun or what-have-you. I've actually had a fellow student tell me the Java class file he emailed me for a project would only run on Java 6 since that's what the lab had installed -- obviously wrong. The point being -- students will intern what they are taught. They should be taught on modern versions/concepts so they intern modern ways of doing things. By teaching Python 2.x to students, you do them a disservice by teaching them the way Python "used to" do it... not how it "does it" now. As an aside -- with all of the major Python libraries now ported to 3.x -- I see little to no reason anyone should ever learn Python 2.x, or use it (with the exception of the obvious legacy codebase support issue).
crdoconnor 12y ago
Every so often I check to see which of my 3rd party libraries has acquired python 3 support. It's edging up over the years, but it's still between 60-80% (depending upon the project). Not all of them small, either - some are ones you really wouldn't relish rewriting. It has some neat features, but nowhere near enough for me to be prepared to dump 1/3-1/5 of the python ecosystem. I'm sure python 3 is coming eventually, but I think it's still a looooong way off.

maxerickson 12y ago

Sure. My point is that nearly everything you learn about writing a program in 2.x is relevant to writing a program in 3.x. You do have to keep track of whether print is a statement or a function or how literals map onto types, and some libraries are imported using different names and some APIs have changed a bit, but if you understand all that jargon, it's not that big a deal (I'll repeat my disclaimer here about transitioning a significant code base being a different thing than managing the differences).

Alupis 12y ago
Well, yes, sure... core programming concepts are the same regardless of language used and/or version. However, from my experience, most students don't venture off on their own until after becoming very familiar with a language. Not all students are experimental enough to hack on personal projects for fun or what-have-you. I've actually had a fellow student tell me the Java class file he emailed me for a project would only run on Java 6 since that's what the lab had installed -- obviously wrong. The point being -- students will intern what they are taught. They should be taught on modern versions/concepts so they intern modern ways of doing things. By teaching Python 2.x to students, you do them a disservice by teaching them the way Python "used to" do it... not how it "does it" now. As an aside -- with all of the major Python libraries now ported to 3.x -- I see little to no reason anyone should ever learn Python 2.x, or use it (with the exception of the obvious legacy codebase support issue).

crdoconnor 12y ago

Every so often I check to see which of my 3rd party libraries has acquired python 3 support. It's edging up over the years, but it's still between 60-80% (depending upon the project). Not all of them small, either - some are ones you really wouldn't relish rewriting. It has some neat features, but nowhere near enough for me to be prepared to dump 1/3-1/5 of the python ecosystem. I'm sure python 3 is coming eventually, but I think it's still a looooong way off.