Python 2 lived a very long and successful life. For reference, the initial version of Python 2.0 was released nearly 22 years ago, on October 16, 2000.
In 2008, the Python Software Foundation announced they would sunset Python 2 in 2015 and asked people to upgrade to Python 3. Just for reference, Python 3 was released on December 3, 2008.
So, some did, but many did not. As a result, in 2014, the Python lifespan was extended till 2020. In other words, the Python 2 sunset date passed more than two years ago. As a result, Python 2.7.18 was the final Python 2 release, released in April 2020.
During the last two years, Arch Linux developers have reduced the use of Python 2 and related libraries in the distribution and apps that rely on it in the official distribution repository.
As a result of these efforts, Python 2 usage in the distro has been limited to a bare minimum. So, it was replaced by Python 3. As expected, Arch devs announced today that Python 2 is no longer available in the official Arch Linux repositories.
Furthermore, the developers recommend that if you still have Python 2 on your Arch Linux system for any reason, you should consider removing it.
Of course, one of the main reasons is that Python 2 support is discontinued. Because of this, there will be no more new bug reports, fixes, or changes to Python 2.
In other words, choosing to use it puts your system at risk. Furthermore, as more Python 2 security vulnerabilities are discovered in 2022, your risk of utilizing Python 2 code grows significantly.
However, many Python 2 apps and Python 2 libraries are still available in the distribution’s AUR repository.
However, because the Arch User Repository (AUR) is a community-supported repo and the software available in it does not receive official maintenance from the Arch Linux developers, use of these is entirely at your own risk.
