Python on Ubuntu

Here is everything you ever wanted to know about Python on Ubuntu <wink>. Well, probably not, but let me know what essential information you think is missing and I'll work on updating it here. Or, since this is a wiki, you too can contribute!

The best thing to do is to start with the Python on Debian wiki page, since we inherit as much as possible from Debian, and we strongly encourage working with the great Debian Python teams to push our changes upstream. A useful way to look at it is this: because Ubuntu and Debian have different release cycles, namely that Ubuntu uses timed releases and Debian uses release-when-ready, we can use these to our advantage. Often, we can initiate big changes in Ubuntu first, using it to blaze a trail, and then systematically push those changes up into Debian, so that we can eventually remove as much of the delta from Ubuntu as possible. This was an effective model for both the Python 2.7 transition and the dh_python2 helper transition.

Deltas from Debian

The above wiki already describes where Debian deviates from upstream Python, and this section will outline how Ubuntu deviates from Debian. Hopefully, these deltas are even smaller.

• Python 2.7 and Python 3.2 only in Ubuntu 12.04. With Precise Pangolin, we have dropped Python 2.6.

Plans for 12.04

Longer term plans (e.g. 14.04)

• Python 3 only on the ISO images. Yes, this means migrating everything in the default install to Python 3. We will never fully get rid of Python 2.7, but since there will also never be a Python 2.8, and Python 2.7 will be nearly 4 years old by the time of the 14.04 LTS release, it is time to relegate Python 2 to universe. Although it is too early to know right now, but we expect Python 3.4 to be the current release by the time of the 14.04 LTS.