Barry Schwartz posted on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:19:14 -0500 as excerpted:

> Frank Peters <frank.peters@...> skribis:
>> I have python-3.1.1 and python-2.6.3 installed.  It was not my
>> intention to install both; portage/emerge just did it automatically. 
>> By the time I noticed this dual installation my system was in place for
>> some time and running without problems, so I just left things that way.
>>  Python-updater (run without options) doesn't report any anomaly.
>> 
>> What python version should I be using as the system python, 2.6.3 or
>> 3.1.1?  Should I delete the older version and run python-updater?
> 
> I haven't been following this conversation, but almost surely you do not
> want python 3 as your system python. It is a brand new dialect and
> almost nothing will work with it. :)

That's correct.  As I wrote in a different post, unless you have 
something specific that needs python-3, I'd actually recommend not 
installing it.  And almost without-a-doubt, you don't want it as your 
system python.  eselect python list, and make sure that's set for 
2.6.whatever.  If you're running a full ~arch system, that, and possibly 
rebuilding a specific package or two, should be all you need to do -- if 
it was working before, I'd not argue with it.  However, the chances of 
you actually needing 3.x for anything is going to be pretty low for 
another six months or so at least, and likely longer, if I don't miss my 
guess.  And you'll likely save yourself worrying about a few bugs as 
packages upgrade in the mean time.  So yes, I'd probably mask >=3.0.0, 
unmerge the python3 you have installed, and then run python updater, but 
it's up to you.  But I'd DEFINITELY ensure I had a 2.6 (or 2.5 for those 
still on it) set as the system python, and run the updater with that set, 
at a minimum.

FWIW, I do have 3.x masked and not on my system, here.  I test lots of 
stuff, but have no interest in worrying myself about python upgrade 
bugs.  Hopefully, by the time I do need it for something, many of the 
bugs from the 3.x upgrades have already been taken care of without me 
ever noticing them, since I was still locked on 2.6.

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman