[Zope-dev] Please, if you port to Python 3, port to 2&3

[Lennart Regebro]

On Sat, Apr 30, 2011 at 17:36, Jim Fulton <jim at zope.com> wrote:
> If we decide to port zope.org-based projects to Python 3, please
> please please, port them to Python 2&3 rather than relying on 2to3 (or
> 3to2).  That is, update the code to work with both Python 2 and Python
> 3.  Relying on 2to3 (or 3to2) is a headache for anyone who uses a
> "develop" installation of a package. (It's also rather annoying for
> someone installing a 2to3-based project in Python 3.)

I'm not sure exactly what "using a develop installation means" or what
headaches it causes, but, for many projects supporting Python 2 and
Python 3 without 2to3 is going to require massive changes and/or
dropping Python 2.5 support. That has to be considered.

> I found 2to3 somewhat helpful in beginning the process of getting
> buildout working with Python 3, but then worked the source into a form
> that works with both Python versions. The code is uglier, but not as
> ugly as incporating 2to3 in the development workflow.

Well, incorporating 2to3 into the buildout development workflow would
have been nearly impossible, but buildout is a special case.

//Lennart