[Twisted-Python] Removing Python 2.6 Support after Twisted 15.1

[Glyph Lefkowitz]

> On Mar 18, 2015, at 5:29 AM, Donald Stufft <donald at stufft.io> wrote:
> 
> 
>> On Mar 18, 2015, at 8:24 AM, Phil Mayers <p.mayers at imperial.ac.uk> wrote:
>> 
>> On 18/03/15 10:45, HawkOwl wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>> 
>>> As Python 2.6 has been officially abandoned for a year+ (and will
>>> receive no further official security updates) and Python 2.7 has been
>>> available for almost five years, it might be time to put Python 2.6
>>> support to bed. The only currently supported distro that has Python
>>> 2.6 is RHEL6, and RHEL7 with Python 2.7 has now been out for a year.
>>> 
>>> This would be in line with other major projects (eg. Django, Plone)
>>> and Python's porting guide
>>> (https://docs.python.org/3/howto/pyporting.html#drop-support-for-python-2-6-and-older).
>>> We can also remove some things from TestCase, and there's random
>>> smatterings of 2.6 support workarounds/comments that we could also
>>> remove.
>>> 
>>> As such, I think we should make 15.1 the final release which
>>> officially supports Python 2.6.
>>> 
>>> Any objections?
>> 
>> Objectively it seems reasonable.
>> 
>> Subjectively, it'll substantially inconvenience me (and others who have RH/CentOS 6 systems which will be in service for years more).
>> 
>> In the past, we've built and deployed a newer Python when this has happened e.g. RHEL4/5. That was a huge pain in the arse, and we don't intend to repeat it. Absent an EPEL package for python27, I suspect many people will do what we intend to do - stop updating Twisted.
>> 
>> Expect to see queries from people on older versions they can't update for some time ;o)
>> 
>> In all seriousness, I guess it depends on how useful this is. Being "in line" with other projects doesn't seem like a useful goal - who cares what Plone does? If it's useful for Twisted, then do it.
>> 
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> 
> Isn’t the RHEL answer here to just use SCLs to install Python 2.7?

Rather than just suggest we preserve the status quo and stay on 2.6 forever to do indefinite free work to support Red Hat's obsolescence business, perhaps we should make a condition of dropping 2.6 support being a clear guide for getting a Twisted environment with py2.7 up and running on whatever appropriately decrepit environment is popular in the CentOS/RHEL user community?  I am annoyed with RH for lagging so much, but I don't want to make their customers' employees suffer for it.

Phil - I do have a question though, since you seem to be a real life user with this use-case :).  If you want to use an old, unsupported version of Python, why do you want to deploy a new, updated version of Twisted on it?

dstufft - is there a PyPy EPEL?  As long as we're telling people to change which Python to use, perhaps we should point them at an actually good one ;).

-glyph