With Python 3.9 breaking cover and bringing with it host of new features for programmers to sink their teeth into, it was only a matter of time before Python 3.5 reached the end of its shelf life.

As of October 2, Python 3.5 is now out of support, which means there will be no more bug fixes or security patches for the 3.5 series, and as such Python 3.5.10 will be the final release. Any remaining Python 3.5 users should upgrade to the latest version, the Python core development team said.

SEE: Hiring kit: Python developer (TechRepublic Premium)  

The lifecycle of Python 3.5 has been overseen by Larry Hastings. Hastings has ended his stint as Python Release Manager to coincide with the end of series 3.5.

“I know we can all look back fondly on Python 3.5,” Hastings wrote.

“[Python] 3.5 added many new asynchronous I/O programming features, the ‘typing’ module, and even a new operator (‘@’). Plus many and varied quality-of-life improvements for the Python programmer, in both the language, the library, the core implementation, and even the installers.”

Hastings added: “Python 3.5.0 was the best version of the best language at the time, and since then it’s gotten even better!”

Better and, it seems, more popular. According to the latest figures from the TIOBE programming community index for October 2020, Python is steadily closing the gap with Java in terms of its popularity with programmers worldwide.

SEE: Top 5 programming languages for systems admins to learn (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

The index, which provides an indicator of the popularity of programming languages based on their use by professional engineers around the world, indicates that Python is fast approaching the number two spot and now holds just a 1.3% gap behind Java. Paul Jansen, CEO of TIOBE Software, pointed out that this was significant in that the two top spots have been held by C and Java since the TIOBE Index’s inception in 2001.

Python 3.9 brings a number of new innovations, not to mention that fact that the 3.9.0rc2 release is the first version of Python to default to the 64-bit installer on the Windows platform.

For a full rundown of what Python 3.9.0 has to offer, be sure to check out Jack Wallen’s guide to the programming language’s best new features.

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