Support

Python Wires support is based on volunteer effort, delivered on an availability and best-effort basis.

Versions and Platforms

Following a strict Backwards Compatibility Policy, Python Wires strives to work on as many Python interpreters and underlying platforms as possible. For that, care is taken in crafting and maintaining a clean, documented code base, that respects and uses safe, non-deprecated Python programming APIs and conventions.

There is, however, a limited set of interpreters and platforms where development and automated testing takes place; these are the only ones where, respectively, human based diagnostics are completed, and where “correctness assertions” [1] can be made.

Important

For these motives, the only supported version is the latest PyPI released version, running on an interpreter and platform for which automated testing is in place:

  • CPython 2.7 on 64 bit Linux, Windows or macOS systems.
  • CPython 3.6 on 64 bit Linux, Windows or macOS systems.
  • CPython 3.7 on 64 bit Linux, Windows or macOS systems.

Other interpreters and platforms may become supported in the future.

Python Wires versions follow a Calendar Versioning scheme with YY.MINOR.MICRO tags, where:

YY Is the two digit year of the release.
MINOR Is the release number, starting at 1 every year.
MICRO Is the bugfix release, being 0 for non-bugfix only releases.

Backwards Compatibility Policy

  • A given release is API compatible with the release preceding it, possibly including new backwards-compatible features: codebases depending on a given Python Wires release should be able to use a later release, with no changes.
  • Notable exceptions:
    • Bug fixes may change an erroneous behaviour that a codebase oddly depends on.
    • Deprecations, as described below.

Deprecation Policy

If a non-backwards compatible API change is planned:

  • A fully backwards compatible release will be made, where uses of API about to break compatibility will issue WiresDeprecationWarnings using the Python Standard Library’s warnings module as in:

    import warnings

class WiresDeprecationWarning(DeprecationWarning):
    pass

warnings.simplefilter('always', WiresDeprecationWarning)
warnings.warn('message', WiresDeprecationWarning)

  • A non-backwards compatible release will be made, no earlier than six months after the release including the WiresDeprecationWarnings.

Requesting Support

Before moving forward, please review the documentation: it may include the answers you’re looking for. After that, if still in need of support, take this guide into consideration, and then open a new issue here, taking care to submit:

  • A clear and concise summary.
  • A detailed description, including snippets of code, if considered useful.

If something is not working as expected, please also include:

  • A short code sample demonstrating the behaviour, along with the actual and expected results.
  • The Python Wires version (eg. 18.1.0).
  • The Python interpreter version (eg. CPython 3.5.2 64 bit).
  • The operating system version (eg. Debian 9 “stretch” 64 bit).

Note

Addressing requests targeting unsupported versions, interpreters or platforms may require additional efforts and non-trivial amounts of time. Besides that, they will be equally welcome.

[1]Whatever that means, without implying any guarantees other than the ones expressed in the License.