Re: getmail, getmail6, testing, unstable, python-is-python3

[Reco <recoverym4n@enotuniq.net>]

	Hi.

On Tue, Oct 27, 2020 at 01:20:17PM -0400, songbird wrote:
> Reco wrote:
> ...
> > Because python. Be it python 2 or python 3 - it's (in)famous for one
> > thing - lack of backwards compatibility. Sooner or later they replace
> > python 3.8 (current sid) with, say, python 3.9 - and the things will
> > break again.
> > Because they did on 3.7->3.8 transition, did before that on 3.6->3.7
> > transition and this list goes long way back.
> 
>   i've not had any problems with python3 here, but i 
> don't do strange things with python3.

Because it's not your burden ;)
Every time a major change like python transition happens in Debian -
packages start breaking. It's up for the maintainer to fix such
breakages (obviously), and once in a while a maintainer goes MIA.
What happens next is packages get deleted from testing first, sid second.

Luckily the bullseye package freeze should be happening Soon™, so it's
unlikely we'll see python 3.9 (and inevitable collateral damage it
brings) in bullseye.


> oh, let me rephrase that, during a recent round i had a problem with a
> program, but that wasn't anything i did so it was somewhere in the
> stack of modules that program used.  does that mean it was
> incompatible?

I cannot tell you that without going into specifics (python version,
modules used, all usual stuff). Usually it's pretty clear from Python
backtrace.


> no, it just meant there was a bug introduced which
> eventually got fixed.

It means you got lucky that time. I would not count on such luck next
time.

Reco