Bug#874339: ITP: rpy2-2.8 -- Python interface to the GNU R language and environment

[Tobias Hansen <thansen@debian.org>]

On 09/05/2017 09:29 PM, Ben Hutchings wrote:
> On Tue, 2017-09-05 at 08:39 +0100, Tobias Hansen wrote:
>> Package: wnpp
>> Severity: wishlist
>>> Owner: Tobias Hansen <thansen@debian.org>
>> * Package name    : rpy2-2.8
>>   Version         : 2.8.6
>>   Upstream Author : Laurent Gautier <lgautier@gmail.com>
>> * URL             : https://rpy2.bitbucket.io/
>> * License         : GPL-2+
>>   Programming Lang: C, Python
>>   Description     : Python interface to the GNU R language and environment
>>
>>  This Debian package provides RPy2, a very simple yet robust Python interface
>> to the GNU R Programming Language. It can manage different types of R objects,
>> and can execute arbitrary R functions, including graphic functions. Rpy2 is a
>> rewrite and extension of the older RPy interface.
>>
>>  Rpy2 is already in Debian, however Rpy2 2.9 no longer supports Python 2, so
>> the Python 2 package was recently removed from Debian. Since sagemath depends
>> on rpy2 while using Python 2, this package reintroduces the Python 2 version of
>> Rpy2, based on the 2.8 series.
> We're aiming to remove Python 2 from Debian, so it doesn't make sense
> to introduce another reverse dependency on it.  sagemath should be
> changed to work with Python 3 only.
>
> Ben.
>

Sagemath will be changed to use Python 3 once it's possible, hopefully
before the next Debian freeze. Currently it's still Python 2 only, but
they are working on switching to Python 3.

Given the number of dependencies sagemath has, we have to continuously
update it and it's dependencies. It's unlikely a Python 3 sagemath would
make it into the next Debian release if we just stop working on it and
let the package rot until they completed the switch to Python 3.

Best,

Tobias