CODEWITHSUNDEEP
python
SwimBikeRun
SwimBikeRun

Reputation: 4460

If Python 3 is the newest python, why is python 2 still around?

I used Python a few years ago when 2 was the only version.

Now there is 2 and 3.

Was there a a reason 2 hasn't continued to upgrade and now there is a split into two different pythons? Like no one uses Python 2.5. They all use 2.7 or whatever it is. Why not just use 3? Obviously there's a reason, but I was unable to find it googling.

My second question is, which one should I use? I am assuming 3, but that's ONLY based on the higher number. I wonder why 2 is still around if 3 is out??? If there aren't any major bugs with 3, I am just going to use that as I don't reckon it much matters: either one would probably work for py QT.

Upvotes: 14

Views: 4151

Answers (4)

Mark Byers
Mark Byers

Reputation: 838336

Why not just use 3?

A lot of existing Python code is not compatible with Python 3 yet. If you need to use Django for example you are forced to use Python 2.x.

My second question is, which one should I use?

Upvotes: 10

Ishpeck
Ishpeck

Reputation: 2041

The latest Ubuntu doesn't ship with Python 3. 12.04 will but that's not out yet.

OpenBSD doesn't have a package for Python 3, either.

Some people may just not have Python 3 on their platform and don't care to compile.

Upvotes: 1

piggy_Yu
piggy_Yu

Reputation: 193

it costs a lot to upgrade from python 2.x to python 3, that's why my project still uses python 2.7

Upvotes: 1

codekaizen
codekaizen

Reputation: 27419

Python 3 is significantly different than Python 2.x, and breaks numerous libraries and likely a lot of other dependent code. Python 2.x will likely be around for quite a while, as libraries are ported and 3.0 is field-tested.

Upvotes: 3

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