[Svnmerge] why python 2.0 compatibility

[Giovanni Bajo]

On 13/07/2007 3.59, Matthew Hannigan wrote:

>> Notice that I sticked to Python 2.0 functionalities, since svnmerge.py has 
>> to be Python 2.0 compatible.  ...
> 
> I've been meaning to ask, why does it need to be 2.0 compatible?
> 
> More curiousity at the moment, but I'm looking building some
> extra functionality using svnmerge.py as a library, and I might
> need to keep it compatible for the same reason.
> 
> I had a quick look at the wiki, but I couldn't find the reason.
> 
> Most linuxes have 2.4 or 2.5 these days; and with the source readily
> available I thought we could aim for 2.4.

There isn't only Linux though. BSDs tend to be slower at updates. When I 
started svnmerge.py, OpenBSD shipped with Python 2.1 (I think 2.4.2 was 
already out by that day, to put things in perspective).

1.5.x is too different to be worth the cost of maintenance, but 2.0 looked 
like a good compromise. People can still run newer 2.x versions and get more 
speed (try running the testsuite with different Python versions...). I don't 
think we're missing *that* much of newer versions anyway.

So, I guess the compatibility bar could be raised if there was a *real* need. 
But I can't see one at the moment.
-- 
Giovanni Bajo