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Ending Py2Py3 compatibility in a user friendly manner PyCon 2017

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"Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that

thou then proceed to three."

Monty Python and the Holy Grail; Scene 33

Python 3 has been around for more than eight years, and much of the Python ecosystem is now available both on Python 2 and Python 3, often using a single code base. Nonetheless, this compatibility comes at a development cost and some library authors are considering ending support for Python 2 . These once-python-2-compatible libraries are at risk of being upgraded on non compatible system and cause user (and developer) frustration.

While it may seem simple to cease support for Python 2, the challenge is not in ending support, but doing so in a way that does not wreak havoc for users who stay on Python 2. And that is not only a communications problem, but a technical one : up until recently, it was impossible to tag a release as Python 3 only; today it is possible.

Like any maintainer of a widely used library, we want to ensure that users continue to use Python 2 continue to have functioning libraries, even after development proceeds in a way that does not support Python 2.

One approach is to ensure easy installation of older versions if possible avoid incompatible versions altogether. Users should not need to manually pin maximal version dependencies across their development environments and projects if all they want is to use the latest versions of libraries that are compatible with their system.

Even if we did expect that of users, consider what would happen when a package they rely on converts to be only Python 3 compatible. If they were not tracking the complete dependency tree, they might discover, on upgrade, that their projects no longer work. To avert this they would need to pin those at the last version compatible with Python 2. Users that want to use older python versions should not have to go through so much anguish to do so.

In order to solve this problem, and thereby make both users' and maintainers' lives easier, we ventured into the rabbit-hole called Packaging.

Though we set off with a singular quest, our tale roves through many lands. We'll narrate the story of our amending PEPs, our efforts in building the ramparts of the pypa/Warehouse Castle, battles with the dragons of Pip, and errands in the "land of no unit tests" otherwise known as PyPI legacy.

By the end of the above tale, the audience members will know the road to Python 3 only libraries had once had hazards that are now easily avoidable. So long as users upgrade their package management tools.

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