[webkit-dev] minimum python version to support

[Chris Jerdonek]

[Resending from correct address.]

On Thu, Mar 4, 2010 at 1:05 PM, Maciej Stachowiak <mjs at apple.com> wrote:

> 4) If we have a smooth way to do it, then locally installing a newer Python
> as part of the WebKit development process might be acceptable as a part of
> the WebKit. After all, everyone developing on Windows has to install it.

There is probably a smooth way.  I used MacPorts on Snow Leopard to
install Python 2.4.  This worked fine for me, and MacPorts says they
support Tiger:

http://www.macports.org/install.php#requirements

MacPorts also makes available a command called python_select that lets
you switch your system between versions, like so--

> python -V
Python 2.6.4
> sudo python_select python24
Selecting version "python24" for python
> python -V
Python 2.4.6

For the purposes of this discussion, can we assume this approach will
work on Tiger and is acceptable (to install Python 2.5)?  It would be
good to know the highest Python version that can be installed on Tiger
using MacPorts.

Otherwise, if we plan to require even just one of our Python tools to
work with 2.3, we should probably be structuring our code with that in
mind now.  For example, we may want to add another layer to the folder
hierarchy in our Python library to let us partition the code by what
version it supports.  It would be easier to do this sooner rather than
later.  (For the purposes of the future, it may make sense to be doing
something like this anyways -- I don't know.)

--Chris