How to handle python 2 removal?

[orinoco]

Hello,

since a few days I'm struggeling with python on my system. The package python-minimal seems not to be installable.

Code Select Expand

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
python-minimal : Depends: python2-minimal (= 2.7.17-2) but 2.7.18-2 is to be installed
Recommends: python but it is not going to be installed

With this in mind I found this transition https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=931659

Okay python2 will be removed in the near future. My next idea was to make python3 the "default" python. I played with update alternatives.

Code Select Expand

$ LANG=C sudo update-alternatives --list python
update-alternatives: error: no alternatives for python

I don't want to break package dependencies and that's why I didn't use a hardlink from python to python3 so far.

What is your opinion? How do you handle the python2 removal?

[dsat]

These three libpython2-stdlib python2 python2-minimal are installable from testing and mandatory for installing oracles current virtualbox-6.1

[der_bud]

First, you can install python2-minimal and python3-minimal side by side (from package description, python2-minimal replaces python-minimal).
Second, I don't handle it, I let Debian and the apt package manager handle that. 3 will automatically become default after transition, and probably some not well maintained packages might go, but I personally had no problems so far with just common dist-upgrading and let apt do the rest.

[Carnophage]

If You want python default to python3, then something like

Code Select Expand


update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/python python /usr/bin/python3 1should do the job.