Python

Introduction

Warning

Python applications belong in your home, not in your docroot.

Python is an interpreted programming language, created by Guido van Rossum in 1991. It is used for a wide range of tasks from basic scripting to full-fledged web applications.

Versions

Release Types

Each release branch of Python is fully supported for five years beginning with its initial stable release. For Python 2.7, this has been extended to ten years. For more details see Update Policy.

Standard version

If you don’t select a certain version, our default will be used. We decided to default to version 2.7.

Change version

To change your python version, run the relevant binary. So if you want to start a script with version 3.6, use the python3.6 binary:

[isabell@stardust ~] python3.6 my-python-script.py

To specify version 2.7 in a shebang, use #!/usr/bin/env python2.7.

Update Policy

We update all versions of Python on a regular basis. Once the security support ends, the branch reaches its end of life, is no longer supported and will be removed from our servers.

Branch

State

Security Support Until

2.7

Security fixes only

January 2024 (by CentOS)

3.6

Security fixes only

January 2024 (by CentOS)

3.7

Bug fixes

2023

3.8

Bug fixes

2024

3.9

Bug fixes

2025

Connection to webserver

In order to make your application accessable from the outside, you need to connect it to the webserver, using a web backend.

Please note that your application must listen on the IP 0.0.0.0. You can choose any port between 1024 and 65535.

pip

pip is Python’s package manager, used to install and manage additional packages. You can only install software to your home directory, so please always use the --user option when running pip.

Versions

In order to install the correct package corresponding to the Python version you want to use, you should run the correct binary. For example, to install a package for Python 2.7, use pip2.7:

[isabell@stardust ~] pip2.7 install package-name --user

To install for Python 3.6, use pip3.6:

[isabell@stardust ~] pip3.6 install package-name --user