Looking Back at Python 2 End of Life: Lessons Learned

Rohan Timalsina

May 17, 2024 - TuxCare expert team

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The last Python 2.x version is Python 2.7, which was released on July 3, 2010. Python 2.7 ended on January 1, 2020.
Python 3 is not backward compatible with Python 2, so the code written for Python 2 may require massive code refactoring.
TuxCare’s Extended Lifecycle Support for Python 2.7 offers security patches for vulnerabilities in Python 2.7, ensuring your existing applications continue to run securely without code rewriting.

Before the Python 2 end of life (EOL) transition in 2020, it was a popular and widely used language. However, its popularity declined significantly after the EOL date due to the lack of official support. While there may still be legacy systems running Python 2, the general trend is towards Python 3 adoption for new projects and maintenance of existing ones.

End of life for any software or programming language means it will not receive any official updates, including security and bug fixes from the vendor, after the EOL date. In the case of Python, the end of life is scheduled five years after the release date unless it is changed by the release manager.

Why Python 2 Had to Retire

Python 2 was first released in 2000 and served the developer community well for many years. However, the development team behind Python saw the need for significant improvements in the language. Thus, Python 3.0 was born in 2006.

Many users relied on Python 2 for their projects. The Python team didn’t want to disrupt these users, so they continued maintaining and releasing both Python 2 and 3 for a considerable amount of time. This dual maintenance, however, slowed down progress on Python. Changes that could benefit Python 3 were limited by compatibility concerns with Python 2. Additionally, developers had less time to focus on making Python 3 the best it could be.

In 2008, the end date of 2015 was announced with a call for users to migrate to Python 3. The deadline was later extended to 2020 to allow for a smoother transition. The last Python 2.x version is Python 2.7, which was released on July 3, 2010. Python 2.7 ended on January 1, 2020.

Impacts of Python 2 End of Life

Security Vulnerabilities: Like any other programming language, Python is not immune to vulnerabilities. No security update means the vulnerabilities discovered after the EOL date will remain unaddressed. This is a major security concern for businesses and individuals who rely on Python 2 as Python 2-based applications can become easy targets for attackers.

Compatibility Issues: Newer libraries and frameworks increasingly focused on Python 3 compatibility, leaving Python 2 users with limited access to the latest features and advancements in the Python ecosystem.

Maintenance Challenges: Organizations relying on Python 2 faced the difficulty of maintaining legacy codebases, which became increasingly complex and costly over time. Due to the absence of support, any issues or bugs in Python 2 have to be addressed internally.

Python 2 End of Life: Migration Issues

Python 3 is not backward compatible with Python 2. This means code written for Python 2 may require significant rewrites to function correctly in Python 3. To ease the transition to Python 3 for developers, Python 2.7 incorporated some of the new features introduced in Python 3. Despite these efforts, developers faced issues when migrating to Python 3 because of some fundamental changes in how Python handled data types, printing, and string encoding.

Code Changes: Some new changes in Python 3 break the backward compatibility with Python 2. For example, print is now a function, not a statement, and using it as a statement will result in an error.

Code Example:

print “Hello World”

The above code runs in Python 2, returning Hello World. However, it throws an invalid syntax error in Python 3. In Python 3, it is written as:

print(“Hello World”)

Similarly, many other changes need code refactoring to run your applications smoothly in Python 3. This introduces additional time and effort for developers after the Python 2 end of life.

Third-Party Library Support: Not all third-party libraries and frameworks were immediately compatible with Python 3. While many popular libraries had migrated to Python 3, some remained incompatible, requiring developers to find alternative solutions or rewrite portions of their code

Legacy Systems: Some organizations relied on outdated systems built on Python 2, making migration more challenging due to the interconnectedness of various components and the risk of disrupting critical workflows.

Time and Resources: Migrating large codebases from Python 2 to Python 3 required substantial time, budget, and resources to ensure a smooth transition without disrupting ongoing projects and operations.

Lessons Learned

Despite the challenges, the Python 2 end of life transition offers valuable lessons for developers and organizations:

Staying Updated: Performance, features, and security are all improved in newer versions. By sticking to older versions, like Python 2, you miss out on these enhancements and put yourself at risk for security vulnerabilities.

Migration Planning: The Python 2 EOL shift highlighted the importance of early planning and proactive migration strategies. Organizations that started the migration process early had smoother transitions with minimal disruptions.

Automating Conversion: Migrating large codebases from Python 2 to 3 can be a daunting task. Tools like “2to3” and “python-future” can be used for automating code conversion, though manual intervention will still be required. These tools can significantly reduce the time and effort required for complex upgrades.

Final Thoughts

While the Python 2 end of life shift happened in 2020, some organizations may still be running applications built with it. As this poses a significant security risk, organizations can choose alternative options to ensure the security of Python 2 workloads.

TuxCare’s Extended Lifecycle Support for Python 2.7 offers security patches for vulnerabilities in Python 2.7 software running on AlmaLinux, Rocky, or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9. This gives organizations additional time for a complete migration to Python 3.x without exposing their systems to potential security threats. The extended support does not provide new features or bug fixes, so the ultimate goal should be to migrate to Python 3.x for modern features and improved performance.

Send questions to a TuxCare security expert to learn more about how Extended Lifecycle Support for Python 2.7 works.

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