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Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2012 13:12:49 +0100
From: Jamie Paul Griffin <jamie@kode5.net>
To: python-list@python.org
Subject: Re: Which Version of Python?
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Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:28950

[ Ramchandra Apte wrote on Tue 11.Sep'12 at 19:58:29 -0700 ]

> On Tuesday, 11 September 2012 22:19:08 UTC+5:30, Charles Hottel  wrote:
> > I have a lot of programming experience in many different languages and now 
> > 
> > I want to learn Python.  Which version do you suggest I download, Python 2.x 
> > 
> > or Python 3.x ?  Also why should I prefer one over the other?
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Right now I am thinkng Python 3.x as it has been out since 2008, but I have 
> > 
> > some concerns about backward compatibility with older packages that I might 
> > 
> > want to use.
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Thanks for your ideas and help.
> 
> Use Python 3 because most packages support Python 3. Python 2.7 has many features that Python 3 has so it will require minimal effort to write Python 2.x code.

When I first started to learn Python - about a year ago - I got myself a book which focuses on version 3 but is does also include Version 2. The author wrote that because a number of supporting libraries have not been updated to work in Python 3, and where "it is felt that the theory still needs to be expounded upon" Python 2.x will be used in lieu of Python 3. I personally, as a beginner, have found this approach helpful. Although, when this book was published Python 3.1 was the latest release, so of course since then said libraries most probably have been updated. So, as a fellow beginner i'd go for version 3.x.

Jamie.