Top all-time · #2753
Curious Efficiency
Personal blog · curiousefficiency.orgprogramming
Curious Efficiency is a personal blog at curiousefficiency.org about programming. Since 2014, 28 different Hacker News readers have linked it 32 times, most often “Why Python 4.0 won't be like Python 3.0”. The last post was in 2024, but the archive is still widely read.
Too few sampled comments (11) to say how often HN recommends it.?
Why HN links it
HN readers cite Nick Coghlan's posts, mainly the Python 4.0 post, as the reference for Python's future and the promise of no more 2-to-3 style breaks. One commenter tells readers to read the post on Python's future.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 11 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Efficiency (a virtue) is the child of laziness and greed (both vices), while much of our economic activity is devoted to preventing boredom in the idle time created by increases in efficiency. To be human is to be a strange creature indeed :)
Most-linked posts?
- Why Python 4.0 won't be like Python 3.08 people · 8 mentions · first linked 2014-08-17
- /posts/2014/08/python-4000.html4 people · 5 mentions · first linked 2017-11-16
- Languages to improve your Python4 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2015-10-11
- The Python Packaging Ecosystem (2016)3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2016-09-17
- Abusing Contributors is not OK2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2015-01-22
- The Origin of Venvstacks2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2024-11-01
- Considering Python’s Target Audience (2017)2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2017-10-16
What Hacker News says?
The python devs learned their lesson and aren’t going to do a major breakage like 2 to 3 again. https://www.curiousefficiency.org/posts/2014/08/python-4000....
Comment linking /posts/2014/08/python-4000.html
on “Numpy: Plan for dropping Python 2.7 support”Submitted Languages to improve your Python as a story · 95 points
HN discussionThe Python developers plan to never break syntax or stdlib compatibility again. Core developer Nick Coghlan wants to see 4.0 within the decade but he wants it to be "uneventful". [1] In that way, it would be a lot like Python 2.0, which only broke compatibility in obscure ways, but added new ways to do things. Here are some of my wild guesses at what features Python would want to commemorate with a 4.0 release: - An…
Comment linking /posts/2014/08/python-4000.html
on “Numpy: Plan for dropping Python 2.7 support”Submitted Abusing Contributors is not OK as a story · 77 points
HN discussion> What happens in a few years when Python 4 renders all Python 3 code incompatible? Ah, the classic "they did it once so they'll definitely do it every single time from now on" argument. Nick Coghlan, one of the Python core developers, said "Python 4.0 will merely be "the release that comes after Python 3.9"" [0], so I think your concerns are ill-based. [0] https://www.curiousefficiency.org/posts/2014/08/python-4000…
Comment linking /posts/2014/08/python-4000.html
on “Things to use in Python 3”Submitted Considering Python’s Target Audience (2017) as a story · 37 points
HN discussionGuido has stated to not compare semver in the past.[0] Will there be a 3.10 or go to 4.0 after 3.9, per one of his core developers?[1] It's hard to tell with Python's leadership (no intentional mockery of the term leadership). My guess is that they'll indeed push onwards to Python4 as soon as possible. This being another attempt to make Python2 look as old and crufty as possible. "You're still on Python2? Wow, I'm o…
Comment linking /posts/2014/08/python-4000.html
on “Code that will break in Python 4”Submitted Abusing Contributors is not OK as a story · 35 points
HN discussionFrom Guido: he expects "Python 4.0 will merely be "the release that comes after Python 3.9". That's it. No profound changes to the language, no major backwards compatibility breaks" http://www.curiousefficiency.org/posts/2014/08/python-4000.h... Would be nice if it was simply 3.10 not 4.0, as there's much discussion on that too.
Comment linking /posts/2014/08/python-4000.html
on “Code that will break in Python 4”Submitted Some Suggestions for Teaching Python as a story · 27 points
HN discussionI believe they said they were going to try very hard to not do major backwards compatible breaking changes again. > My current expectation is that Python 4.0 will merely be "the release that comes after Python 3.9". That's it. No profound changes to the language, no major backwards compatibility breaks - going from Python 3.9 to 4.0 should be as uneventful as going from Python 3.3 to 3.4 (or from 2.6 to 2.7). I even…
Comment linking /posts/2014/08/python-4000.html
on “Code that will break in Python 4”Submitted Why Python 4.0 won't be like Python 3.0 as a story · 16 points
HN discussionYup. And the developers learned their lesson and aren't going to do it again. https://www.curiousefficiency.org/posts/2014/08/python-4000....
Comment linking /posts/2014/08/python-4000.html
on “Most popular Python packages now support Python 3”Submitted Abusing Contributors is not OK as a story · 9 points
HN discussionIt has massive support and libraries for almost anything imaginable. It's not dying. Yes, the transition from 2 to 3 is a bit of a hiccup, but it's going to be around for a long time! A tad bit old, but read this: http://www.curiousefficiency.org/posts/2012/10/pythons-futur... TL;DR: No.
Comment linking /posts/2012/10/pythons-future-global-perspective.html
on “Ask HN: Is Python dying?”Submitted The Python Packaging Ecosystem (2016) as a story · 3 points
HN discussionNot likely anymore: http://www.curiousefficiency.org/posts/2014/08/python-4000.h...
Comment linking /posts/2014/08/python-4000.html
on “Guido van Rossum: The Theory of Type Hinting for Python 3.5”Submitted The Python Packaging Ecosystem (2016) as a story · 3 points
HN discussionThis post: https://www.curiousefficiency.org/posts/2014/08/python-4000....
Comment linking /posts/2014/08/python-4000.html
on “Bringing macros to Python by abusing type annotations”Submitted Background tasks in Python 3.5 as a story · 3 points
HN discussionhttp://www.curiousefficiency.org/posts/2014/08/python-4000.h... It will be backward compatible (unless there is an absolute need to break), but just keep Python 4 out of your head. For now, they predict just 3.10+
Comment linking /posts/2014/08/python-4000.html
on “Python 2.7 Countdown”Submitted The Origin of Venvstacks as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted 27 languages to improve your Python as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Considering Python's Target Audience as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted 27 languages to improve your Python as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted 27 languages to improve your Python as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted 27 languages to improve your Python as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Why Python 4.0 won't be like Python 3.0 as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted The transition to multilingual programming as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted The Origin of Venvstacks as a story · 1 points
HN discussion
