Python 2 will be replaced with Python 3 in the next RHEL major release

[Miro Hrončok]

Hi, see the deprecation notes for RHEL 7.5 [1]:

   Python 2 has been deprecated
   ============================

   Python 2 will be replaced with Python 3 in the next Red Hat Enterprise
   Linux (RHEL) major release.

   See the Conservative Python 3 Porting Guide [2] for information on how
   to migrate large code bases to Python 3.

While this might have been obvious from the conditionals we have been 
adding in some specfiles [3][4], this is AFAIK the first time this has 
been publicly announced.

This is important for those who like to maintain a single spec for 
everything. Previously, there have been messages on the devel list that 
encouraged people to change the python3 conditional from "if fedora" to 
"if fedora or rhel > 7" [5]. Please make a note that it will not be that 
simple, because you'll also need to add conditionals for python2, see 
for example already mentioned [3] or [4].

(If the conditionals are getting too complicated, consider not using 
them at all and maintain multiple branches of the specs instead.)

This is also important for everybody who still runs their code on Python 
2. Please consider to migrate ASAP. The Conservative Python 3 Porting 
Guide [2] is very helpful. (I'm looking mostly at Fedora infra and QA here.)

We (Red Hat Python Maint and Fedora Python SIG) are happy to help. If 
you feel lost, talk to us. Also, this is a reminder that we intend to 
orphan Python 2 from Fedora [6] and so far nobody volunteered to 
maintain it.

Python 2 will go upstream EOL in 1.75 years [7].

[1] 
https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_enterprise_linux/7/...
[2] https://portingguide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
[3] 
https://src.fedoraproject.org/rpms/createrepo_c/pull-request/3#request_diff
[4] 
https://src.fedoraproject.org/rpms/python-bugzilla/pull-request/2#request...
[5] 
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[e-mail].o...
[6] 
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[e-mail].o...
[7] https://pythonclock.org/

-- 
Miro Hrončok
--
Phone: [phone]
IRC: mhroncok