Python2.5

Revision 3 as of 2006-07-06 12:36:30

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Summary

Python-2.5 will be released on Aug 8, the current beta release was released on schedule. Ship edgy with python2.5 in main, either as default, or as a supported version.

Rationale

Ubuntu has a strong committment to the Python language, so users may expect availability for the latest release.

Design

With the current packaging using python-{central,support}, we have the possibility to add/drop supported python versions more easily. In theory we are able to add a new version and then to rebuild all needed packages to support the new python version. In practice, not all packages are compatible with new python versions, so some fixing is required.

  • Rebuild all python related packages after the sync from unstable in a test archive to support python2.5 as well.
  • Decide if it is a viable option to support python2.5.
  • Decide if it is a viable option to make python2.5 the default.

Implementation

  • python2.5 packages are done; testing is done for the Ubuntu release architectures (see http://www.python.org/dev/buildbot/trunk/).

  • Rebuild all packages with extensions (the rebuild of packages can profit from an automatic build infrastructure).
  • If applicable, set the default version to 2.5 (python-defaults).

Data preservation and migration

  • Packages containing extensions may double in size (worst case), so CD sizes may increase by 2-4MB. On the other hand, packages are not byte-compiled for optimized bytecode anymore, so we regain some of that space.

BoF agenda and discussion

  • If the spec is approved, we will support two python versions for edgy. It seems too risky to drop python2.4.

CategorySpec