[sho_hn]

> On the other hand, if you are comfortable with Python 2, it will do the job, and you know it will be supported for a foreseeable future, why bother learning Python 3?

This bothers/worries me, because I don't understand where this notion that "learning Python 3" requires significant effort or commitment comes from. Python 3 isn't massively different from Python 2. I learn more "new stuff" (APIs I've never used before, implementation details of systems I work on/with, etc.) basically every month than that difference.

Python 2 -> 3 can be a big step because of dependencies. The difference between the languages themselves is negligible (and yet, IMHO for the better). You don't need to learn any new ways of thinking here.

If you're comfortable with Python 2, you're comfortable with Python 3 as well. If your dep ducks are in a row and you're writing new code, it's an obvious choice.

[sillysaurus3]

It's not about the language. Languages are easy to learn. I can learn one between breakfast and lunch and be productive by dinnertime.

I use Python 2 because of the massive ecosystem of libraries that have been written, work, and will continue to work.

It's shortsighted and more than a little irresponsible to shame or muscle people into switching. Code that works is valuable. Code that has been tested for a decade is valuable. What's not valuable is forcing an upgrade to a platform that nobody wants to upgrade to while forcing us to abandon third-party code with years of field testing that the authors aren't ever going to port to python 3.

[sho_hn]

> It's not about the language.

It was for the OP. Can't fault me for my reply not reading on an argument you make after the fact :).

> I use Python 2 because of the massive ecosystem of libraries that have been written, work, and will continue to work.

I too like useful libraries that save me time and effort, and I agree that Python 2 is extremely strong there. I feel like Python 3 is catching up and has a pretty good library story going for it already (my gratitude to those who make that happen through their contributions), in addition to being a language I find more enjoyable and productive to use than Python 2.

> It's shortsighted and more than a little irresponsible to shame or muscle people into switching.

I don't think I've done either, and I think you're being quite rude here. I was merely voicing my opinion that the magnitude of the differences between Python 2 and 3 gets blown out of proportion. Please be mindful of the context.

> that nobody wants to upgrade to

Not so, I've wanted to and have upgraded things to Python 3, and so have others.

As for the whole "forcing" stuff - well, yes, it happens. As a user of a language you're part of a community, and communities can sometimes decide to go into a direction you don't agree with. It's frustrating and difficult, and you can reasonably decide that it's a deal-breaker and leave the community. Often however it's valuable to instead put one's efforts into achieving consensus, and then defending and carrying that consensus, even if it's not what you originally wanted - shit tends to get done faster then, to the benefit of all.

[sillysaurus3]

I didn't mean to be rude. I'm sorry if it sounded that way. I think it's both shortsighted and irresponsible to force people to abandon libraries that work.

The parent poster wasn't concerned about learning the language. They were concerned about dependencies that work, which is what I was saying:

"I care about getting my python script working as soon as possible and for a foreseeable future - I couldn't care less for the Python language and it's future."

Yes, I didn't mean "nobody" literally. I should have said "few."

[sho_hn]

> The parent poster wasn't concerned about learning the language. They were concerned about dependencies that work

No, read more of the thread - to quote the OP:

> I rarely write anything high language besides small scripts.

OK, so you could argue that their scripts probably remain small because they call into tons of third-party code, but honestly I get the impression that it's a case of working with the included batteries and not being overly concerned with dependencies. If it was solely about deps availability, they probably wouldn't have talked about "learning Python 3" as their sticking point.

[weixiyen]

^ This is the best comment in the entire thread.

Nobody who's making anything that actually matters and delivers value to customers cares about the improvements in the language itself as much as they care about the battle-tested libraries that come with that particular language.

If you are a company that actually matters (has significant growth / users) and you use Python3 over Python2 as the main language in your stack, I'd like to know who you are, if you even exist.

[clamberson]

I'm a build engineer at Intel (100,000+ employees), and we strictly use Python3. You act like it's a completely different language. It hurts the community when you blow the situation out of proportion. There are innumerable Python3 libraries, and while there are most certainly more in the Python2 camp, who cares? This isn't a dick-measuring contest; it's a change for the better in a language we all seem to like.

[weixiyen]

Is Python the main language you guys use, over Java/C++ as well? And what's the context of its usage? How do you deal with stuff that's missing, do you just have your own employees fork and port existing libraries?

I'm not asking as a challenge to you, I'm genuinely curious.