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Should non-security 2.7 bugs be fixed?

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  Should non-security 2.7 bugs be fixed? Terry Reedy <tjreedy@udel.edu> - 2015-07-18 19:36 -0400
    Re: Should non-security 2.7 bugs be fixed? Rick Johnson <rantingrickjohnson@gmail.com> - 2015-07-18 19:04 -0700

#94071 — Should non-security 2.7 bugs be fixed?

I asked the following as an off-topic aside in a reply on another 
thread. I got one response which presented a point I had not considered. 
  I would like more viewpoints from 2.7 users.

Background: each x.y.0 release normally gets up to 2 years of bugfixes, 
until x.(y+1).0 is released.  For 2.7, released summer 2010, the bugfix 
period was initially extended to 5 years, ending about now.  At the 
spring pycon last year, the period was extended to 10 years, with an 
emphasis on security and build fixed.  My general question is what other 
fixes should be made?  Some specific forms of this question are the 
following.

If the vast majority of Python programmers are focused on 2.7, why are 
volunteers to help fix 2.7 bugs so scarce?

Does they all consider it perfect (or sufficient) as is?

Should the core developers who do not personally use 2.7 stop 
backporting, because no one cares if they do?

-- 
Terry Jan Reedy

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#94081

On Saturday, July 18, 2015 at 6:37:41 PM UTC-5, Terry Reedy wrote:
> If the vast majority of Python programmers are focused on
> 2.7, why are volunteers to help fix 2.7 bugs so scarce?

Because newer code is always more buggy than older code
(when both get significant attention that is). There were
quite a few growing pains after Py3 was released. All of
this required massive attention. This explains the "hype" 
for Py3.

> Does they all consider it perfect (or sufficient) as is?

No, but it works, and it works without bug-fixing old repos.

> Should the core developers who do not personally use 2.7 stop 
> backporting, because no one cares if they do?

I think that would be an awful mistake. The last thing you
want is rumors spreading that Python is buggy. Even if only
Python2 becomes buggy, it's bugginess with affect Python3's
reputation.

  TEAMLEADER: Should we use Python for project X?
  
  MEMBER1: I don't know, i heard Python was buggy???
  
  MEMBER2: *AND* the community is fractured!
  
  Member3: Which begs the question: Which version is going
  be around in few years?
  
  MEMBER4: And what if his "holiness" decides to break
  compatibility again?
  
  MEMBER5: Perhaps this time he'll make print a method of some
  new stdout object!

  TEAMLEADER: Yup. Let's make this easy and go with Ruby.

A bad reputation can ruin a language. I would warn against
allowing any version of Python to become buggy. Security or 
otherwise. The future of Python is literally hanging by a 
thread.

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