About python 3.2vs3.3 and jhbuild working for Ubuntu LTS

[Piñeiro <apinheiro igalia com>]

Hi,

recently Ryan Lortie approached Joanmarie Diggs, in relation with the
fact that Orca from master doesn't work on Ubuntu precise, the current
LTS. You can find the log attached. But in short:

  * Orca master depends on python 3.3. Reasons:
     * 3.2 has some bugs that were solved on 3.3, so was more convenient
to use 3.3. Joanmarie will re-investigate which and how important those
bugfixes are.
     * 3.3 is the target of GNOME 3.8 (AFAIK), Fedora and next Ubuntu
(so probably also others)
  * But Ubuntu precise (current LTS) ships python 3.2
     * Ryan Lortie mentioned that at the Boston Summit we talked about
the relation with distros, one of them Ubuntu
     * Quoting Ryan Lortie: "we decided that we wanted to try to keep
jhbuild working on last-LTS"

I personally remember a discussion on the Boston Summit related with the
relationship with the distros. And although I remember that the general
consensus was "being good with them". But I don't remember a so explicit
and hard-tied agreement like keep jhbuild working on a LTS. AFAIK, when
a ubuntu release is named LTS, it keep like that for 2 years.

In the same, the current goal to port to python3 [1] is not explicit
about what version of python, 3.2 or 3.3, and taking into account this
issues, I think that it would be good to decide it.

So:
  * Should the python 3 porting goal be explicit about the python 3
version? python 3.2? python 3.3?
  * Do we have an agreement to keep jhbuild working on last Ubuntu LTS?

BR

[1] https://live.gnome.org/GnomeGoals/Python3Porting

-- 
Alejandro Piñeiro Iglesias

<desrt> joanie: hey.  any reason orca has a dependency on python 3.3?
<joanie> yeah, there were some changes (or bug fixes) in Python 3.3
<desrt> is it possible to get along with 3.2?
<desrt> ubuntu precise doesn't have 3.3 :/
<joanie> I forget if Orca hangs or crashes with 3.2
<joanie> Orca 3.8 is for GNOME 3.8 (of course)
<joanie> Fedora and Ubuntu next both will ship Python 3.3
<desrt> you're currently the only thing in jhbuild that depends on 3.3
<joanie> Even though Ubuntu will not ship GNOME 3.8
<joanie> desrt: And what pray tell would you like me to do about that?
<joanie> Orca unstable is compatible with GNOME unstable distros
<desrt> hmm
<joanie> besides Ubuntu Qwhatever has Python 3.3
<joanie> Precise is old
<desrt> it's the last LTS
<joanie> so.... ?
<desrt> i don't remember if you were in the room at the summit at the time but i think we decided that we wanted to try to keep jhbuild working on last-LTS
<desrt> last-ubuntu and last-LTS
<joanie> I would have raised my hand had I been in the room for that
<joanie> But if it would make your life happier, I could (after checking with the release team) change jhbuild to be based on Orca 3.6
<desrt> or reduce the dependency in configure.ac :)
<joanie> if I do that Orca won't work
<desrt> it will if your python is good enough...
<desrt> and if it's not then at least it will build...
<joanie> well, the version bump came after Ubuntu Precise and Qwhatever users complained Orca was no longer compatible
<desrt> do you know what the specific python bug was?  maybe i could get an SRU for ubuntu...
<joanie> after I change I made because Orca would not run in Fedora
<joanie> if you give me a few I can re-research it
<desrt> i'd appreciate that
<joanie> sure
<desrt> thanks