Download Python 3.0

Python is an object-oriented programming language that can be used to develop simple to complex cross-platform applications. The developers of this programming language have released version 3.0. The 3.0 series is no longer backwards compatible with the previous release branches, as the Python developers want to clean up the language from old code and fix some existing design flaws. The complete list of changes for Python 3.0 is up this page to read. The 3.0 release announcement looks like this:

On behalf of the Python development team and the Python community, I am happy to announce the release of Python 3.0 final.

Python 3.0 (aka “Python 3000” or “Py3k”) represents a major milestone in Python’s history, and was nearly three years in the making. This is a new version of the language that is incompatible with the 2.x line of releases, while remaining true to BDFL Guido van Rossum’s vision. Some things you will notice include:

• Fixes to many old language warts
• Removal of long deprecated features and redundant syntax
• Improvements in, and a reorganization of, the standard library
• Changes to the details of how built-in objects like strings and dicts work
• …and many more new features

While these changes were made without concern for backward compatibility, Python 3.0 still remains very much “Pythonic”.

We are confident that Python 3.0 is of the same high quality as our previous releases, such as the recently announced Python 2.6. We will continue to support and develop both Python 3 and Python 2 for the foreseeable future, and you can safely choose either version (or both) to use in your projects. Which you choose depends on your own needs and the availability of third-party packages that you depend on. Some other things to consider:

• Python 3 has a single Unicode string type; there are no more 8-bit strings
• The C API has changed considerably in Python 3.0 and third-party extension modules you rely on may not yet be ported
• Tools are available in both Python 2.6 and 3.0 to help you migrate your code
• Python 2.6 is backward compatible with earlier Python 2.x releases

We encourage you to participate in Python 3.0’s development process by joining its mailing list. If you find things in Python 3.0 that are broken or incorrect, please submit bug reports. For more information, links to documentation, and downloadable distributions, see the Python 3.0 website.

enjoy,
– -Barry