[arch-dev-public] Python move news announcement draft

[Ray Rashif]

On 18 October 2010 20:38, Dan McGee <dpmcgee at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Oct 18, 2010 at 7:32 AM, Allan McRae <allan at archlinux.org> wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> I will move python stuff from [testing] soon so we will need a news item...
>>  Here is a draft:
>>
>> --begin draft--
>>
>> Major python update
>>
>> A major python update is hitting the repos on a mirror near you.   This
>> involves update the python package from the 2.6 series to the 2.7 series.
>>  However, with python-2.7 being scheduled to be the last major release in
>> the python-2.x series, python 2.7 is now packaged as "python2", while the
>> "python" package will contain the python 3.x series.  This means that
>> /usr/bin/python will point at python 3.x and any programs requiring python2
>> should point at /usr/bin/python2 instead.  All packages in the repos have
>> been updated, but any issues found can be reported to the bug tracker (not
>> the forum or the mailing lists). Any AUR packages using python will likely
>> need updated to point at the correct python binary.
>>
>> --end draft--
>>
>> Comments?
>
> It might drag on a bit. I'd make it so people don't ignore it; maybe
> title it so it seems a bit more sensational and people actually read
> it: "Python 3 is now the default Python". And then make the opening
> line the bit about packaging and binaries moving rather than all the
> 2.6 to 2.7 stuff which people will just go "oh, ok, not a big deal" to
> and miss the python3 stuff completely.

Here's an attempt to make it more straightforward. The moving part has
been moved to the first few lines so "moved", "default", "3" and "3.x"
should register prominently while reading:

--begin draft--

Python is now Python 3

A major Python update has just been moved from the testing
repositories and will be available on a mirror near you. The default
"python" package is now for the 3.x series while the 2.x series has
been moved to a "python2" package, with python-2.7 having been
scheduled to be the last major release in the python-2.x series.

Since /usr/bin/python will now point to the 3.x binary, any program
requiring 2.x needs to point to /usr/bin/python2 instead. All our
packages have been updated accordingly, but any remaining issues found
can be reported to the bug tracker (not the forums or mailing lists).

AUR and third-party packages/projects using Python will likely need
updating to reflect this move, as many programs are still incompatible
with Python 3.

--end draft--

And yes, thanks and congrats for a job well done :)