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Arthur T Knackerbracket [soylentnews.org] writes:

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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story [python.org]:

We are volunteers who make and take care of the Python programming language. We have decided that January 1, 2020, will be the day that we sunset Python 2. That means that we will not improve it anymore after that day, even if someone finds a security problem in it. You should upgrade to Python 3 as soon as you can.

We need to sunset Python 2 so we can help Python users.

We released Python 2.0 in 2000. We realized a few years later that we needed to make big changes to improve Python. So in 2006, we started Python 3.0. Many people did not upgrade, and we did not want to hurt them. So, for many years, we have kept improving and publishing both Python 2 and Python 3.

But this makes it hard to improve Python. There are improvements Python 2 can't handle. And we have less time to work on making Python 3 better and faster.

And if many people keep using Python 2, then that makes it hard for the volunteers who use Python to make software [python3statement.org]. They can't use the good new things in Python 3 to improve the tools they make.

We did not want to hurt the people using Python 2. So, in 2008, we announced that we would sunset Python 2 in 2015, and asked people to upgrade before then. Some did, but many did not. So, in 2014, we extended that sunset till 2020.

If people find catastrophic security problems in Python 2, or in software written in Python 2, then volunteers will not help you. If you need help with Python 2 software, then volunteers will not help you. You will lose chances to use good tools because they will only run on Python 3 [py3readiness.org], and you will slow down people who depend on you and work with you.

Some of these problems will start on January 1. Other problems will grow over time.

Please read the official "Porting Python 2 Code to Python 3" guide [python.org]. Please also read the Python 3 Statement Practicalities [python3statement.org] for advice on sunsetting your Python 2 code.

If you buy software or software support from vendors, ask them. If you pay developers or system administrators, ask them. If you don't have vendors or technical staff, then use "Can I Use Python 3?" [pypi.org] to find out whether you depend on any software written in Python 2.

To find out more about whether specific tools can work with Python 3, look at Python 2.7 Readiness [pyreadiness.org], the Python 3 Statement [python3statement.org], and Python 3 Readiness [py3readiness.org].

If you buy software or software support from vendors, ask them. If you pay developers or system administrators, ask them. If you don't have vendors or technical staff, then use "Can I Use Python 3?" [pypi.org] to find out which tools you need to upgrade to Python 3.

Yes. If you can pay for extended support, talk to one of these vendors [python.org]. If you can pay to hire someone to help you, post on the job board [python.org] or hire a consultant [python.org]. If you need free help from volunteers, look at this help page [python.org].

We talked about it at software conferences, on the Python announcement mailing list, on official Python blogs, in textbooks and technical articles, on social media, and to companies that sell Python support.

Buy Python support from a vendor, or subscribe to the Python announcement mailing list [python.org].

The Python Software Foundation is the organization behind Python. Become a member of the PSF and help advance the software and our mission.

Original Submission