Why Python 2 Is Being Retired and How to Migrate to Python 3

Python 2 End‑of‑Life Announcement

The Python official website has warned that support for Python 2 will officially cease on January 1 2020. Users who have not yet upgraded to Python 3 are urged to migrate as soon as possible.

Reason for Ending Support

Volunteers maintaining the language explain that continuing to support Python 2 would hinder their ability to improve Python overall. Python 2 cannot accommodate many of the enhancements planned for Python 3, making further development difficult.

Historical Timeline

Python 2.0 was released in 2000. In 2006 the team started Python 3.0, but both versions were maintained for years. Initially the end‑of‑life date was set for 2015, later extended to 2020 because many users had not migrated.

Countdown to the Deadline

As of September 11 2019, the site pythonclock.org showed a remaining time of 3 months and 20 days until the cutoff.

Consequences of Not Upgrading

After the deadline, no security fixes will be provided for Python 2, and volunteers will no longer assist with Python 2‑based software. Users may lose access to modern tools and slow down collaborators who rely on Python 3.

How to Migrate to Python 3

The official migration guide is available at https://docs.python.org/3/howto/pyporting.html . A practical guide to Python 3 syntax can be found at https://python3statement.org/practicalities/ .