>Also Python is the poster child of what happens when you throw compatibility away.
And what, exactly, happened?
For years I avoided Python3. Updating my code base was a hassle I did not want to deal with.
Finally, a few months ago, I had some spare time and took the dive.
And nothing bad happened. I did not even spend hours on it. At this point, all the libraries I need exist for Python3, and the automated tools update my code for Python3 without manual intervention almost every time.
>Of a community dragging their feets while avoiding to upgrade at all costs, with developers being forced to backport features into the 2.x branch.
A minor problem compared to dealing with developers continually using poor paradigms for eternity because C++ did not want to break compatibility.
And I believe the developers who backport to 2.x are not those who implement the features in 3.x. The latter don't care at all about 2.x. Those who backport do not see it as a "pain" but as a new feature to add to their language.
It's amazing that there's someone out there thinking that Python's compatibility break is a "minor problem", even when comparing apples to oranges.
Fortunately the architects of the change said that they've learned their lesson. They don't have much choice either, another one like this and it would be bye bye python.
And what, exactly, happened?
For years I avoided Python3. Updating my code base was a hassle I did not want to deal with.
Finally, a few months ago, I had some spare time and took the dive.
And nothing bad happened. I did not even spend hours on it. At this point, all the libraries I need exist for Python3, and the automated tools update my code for Python3 without manual intervention almost every time.