PyGobject / GTK+ 3 support

[Jérôme <jerome jolimont fr>]

Hi all.

I learnt python/GTK using PyGTK.

Then I read on http://pygtk.org/ that "new users wishing to develop Python
applications using GTK+ are recommended to use the GObject-Introspection
features available in PyGObject", and that "existing authors of PyGTK
applications are also recommended to port their applications to PyGObject to
take advantage of new features appearing in GTK-3 and beyond."

Does using PyGobject necessary mean doing GTK+ 3 ? 

PyGObject webpage says "If you want to use PyGObject to write GTK+ 3
applications [...]". Like you can use it not to write GTK+ 3 applications.
Yet, there's a little documentation for GTK+ 3 programming, but I didn't find
any for GTK+ 2.

From what I have gathered, PyGObject / GTK+ 3 seems a bit "bleeding edge" at
this time :

I think it does not work on debian squeeze (stable), for instance.
python-gobject version is 2.21.4 and I get the following error :
"No module named gi.repository". 

Can someone please confirm it does not work ? It could be my mistake.

(I know debian stable is not bleeding-edge itself, but if one starts a
project today, he may expect his program to run on it. I didn't check other
distros, assuming it would be about the same.)

Which version of python-gobject is needed for import gi.repository to work ?
Version 3 ?

I understand debian package for PyGObject, pyghon-gobject, was renamed to
python-gi starting from version 3, but it is still PyGObject. Is this
correct ? (Is this 3 as in GTK 3 ?)

Now, concerning windows porting, the installers on PyGobject webpage go up to
2.28 : http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/binaries/win32/pygobject/

Does this mean applications using GTK+ 3 (gi.repository) won't run either ?

Where can I find information about PyGObject / GTK+ 3 support on all
platforms (current stage, roadmap,...) ?

Should I understand that it is advised to use PyGObject instead of PyGTK, but
not to use GTK+ 3 ? If so, how ?

Or is the advice of the community to use GTK+ 3 and to wait for (or
contribute to...) its full support ?

I'm afraid I come in the middle of a huge change from GTK+ 2 to GTK+ 3, when
things are in a state where GTK+ 3 is recommended, yet too early. Just like we
had to bear with GTK+ 1 applications in GTK+ 2 environments for a while, as
the porting was not trivial. For instance, glade 3.10 dropped GTK+ 2 support,
expecting everyone to work with GTK+ 3 (or keeping both versions installed,
if their distribution allows it).

Sorry if those are FAQ, but I've been searching already, and this whole
thing is still unclear to me.

-- 
Jérôme