kicad-developers team mailing list archive

["Bachelor_Number_2" <bachelor_number_2@...>]

--- In kicad-devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Dick Hollenbeck <dick@...> wrote:
>
> 
> Florian,
> 
> What is the status of 3.x python support in wxPython?
> 
> Were you able to stir up the bees nest?
> 
> 
> 
> Dick
>

David M. Beazley is the original author of SWIG. He has written a book "Python ESSENTIAL REFERENCE" (4th edition - 2009). The appendix of his book deals with Python 3. Here are some quotes from this section:

"A major problem facing Python 3.0 concerns the compatibility of third-party libraries. Much of Python's power comes from its large variety of frameworks and libraries. However, unless these libraries are explicitly ported toPython 3, they are almost certain not to work. This problem is amplified by the fact that many libraries depend upon other libraries that depend on yet more libraries. As of this writing (2009), there are major libraries and frameworks for Python that haven't even been ported to Python 2.4, let alone 2.6 or 3.0. So, if you are using Python with the intention of running third-party code, you are better off sticking with Python 2 for now."

There are performance issues with Python 3 related to I/O system, separation of bytes and Unicode problems, and some internal library modules are broken.

"However, in the opinion of this author, Python 3.0 is really only suitablefor experimental use by seasoned Python veterans. If you're looking for stability and production quality code, stick with Python 2 until some of the kinks have had time to be worked out of the Python 3 series."

"If you've picked up this book and it's the year 2012, then hopefully the situation will have improved."