If there is any implementation of the python standard that supports 2.x and in addition could add 3.x features producing a python 2.8, it would by PyPy, perhaps more efforts should go towards supporting them.
Yes it is true that PyPy does not support many extensions that rely on CPython's CAPI but at least it offers some major benefits such as increase speed and smaller GC pauses that for a number of projects make the cost benefit analysis favorable to switching to PyPy.
Now I know a significant number of Python developers and I have yet to know one that is deploying Python 3 apps yet I know 40-60 who are deploying PyPy. There are far more libraries that are compatible with Python 3 than PyPy but yet PyPy's adoption is taking off and Python 3 is going no where. If Python 3 offered benefits that developers were interested in than Python 3 would see it's adoption taking off.
I would like to see the down load number for the various versions of Python 3 vs Python 2. I suspect Python 3 is down loaded less than 5% of Python 2. I would also like to see the down load numbers of say the top 800 packages in pypi and how they break down not in terms of whether or not the package is compatible with Python 3 but to see which version of Python including PyPy they are installed under. Not sure if that would be possible as I don't know if pip and company provide the Python version that is used to execute the install commands. This would provide the hard evidence we all need to see the true story of Python 3's adoption rate.
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u/georgelulu May 26 '14
If there is any implementation of the python standard that supports 2.x and in addition could add 3.x features producing a python 2.8, it would by PyPy, perhaps more efforts should go towards supporting them.