Appendix E. PEP 387: Backwards Compatibility Policy

Author: Benjamin Peterson

Abstract

This PEP outlines Python's backwards compatibility policy.

Rationale

As one of the most used programming languages today,[42] the Python core language and its standard library play a critical role in thousands of applications and libraries. This is fantastic; it is probably one of a language designer's most wishful dreams. However, it means the development team must be very careful not to break this existing 3rd party code with new releases.

Backwards Compatibility Rules

This policy applies to all public APIs. These include:

  • Syntax and behavior of these constructs as defined by the reference manual

  • The C-API

  • Function, class, module, attribute, and method names and types. ...

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