This document walks you through the implicit decision-making process of picking the optimal Python version, implementation, and distribution for your needs.
The Python programming language has two main iterations: the older Python 2. x series and the more recent Python 3. x series. When Python 3.0 was released in December 2008, the Python 3. x series began. Since then, Python 2.7 has also been released, and Python 2.7.9 is the most recent version as of the time of this writing. As a side aside, there was a Python 1. x series that was successful in the 1990s, but that series has been abandoned for a very long time.
Guido van Rossum, Python's Benevolent Dictator for Life (often known as the BDFL or GvR), made it plain that the Python 2. x series will end with Python 2.7.x in his keynote address at PyCon 2014 (Figure 1-1). Python 2.7.x will no longer be supported after 2020, and the 2. x series of Python won't receive any new features.
