I haven't found the argument about backwards compatibility to be true of Python, but it has been true of Perl. Code that I wrote 5-6 years ago in Python has needed at least three updates to run in newer versions of Python (1.5->2.0 and 2.0->2.2 and 2.2->2.4--I no longer work in Python, so I don't know if they'd need an update to run on newer versions). On the other hand, code that I wrote ten years ago in Perl still runs unmodified on Perl 5.10. The only major upgrade problem I've seen has been the introduction of native Unicode in Perl, which caused anything that assumed scalars to be made up of 8-bit bytes to break, but that's a pretty broken assumption, anyway.
So, in short, I don't think Python is exactly a paragon of backward compatibility. It may be better than Ruby, but it isn't a solved problem.
I also disagree with the assessment that TIMTOWTDI is a bug. But, me being a Perl coder may have warped my judgment. I find Ruby very intuitive--moreso than Python, even though I've written more Python code than Ruby.
That said, there are some serious deal-breakers in Ruby. Lack of Unicode is one of them. I wasn't among the folks criticizing Arc when it didn't have Unicode at first release...but if it had gone more than a year without Unicode, I would have joined the bandwagon of critics. And, once again, I think Perl has solved Unicode better than Python.
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I haven't found the argument about backwards compatibility to be true of Python, but it has been true of Perl. Code that I wrote 5-6 years ago in Python has needed at least three updates to run in newer versions of Python (1.5->2.0 and 2.0->2.2 and 2.2->2.4--I no longer work in Python, so I don't know if they'd need an update to run on newer versions). On the other hand, code that I wrote ten years ago in Perl still runs unmodified on Perl 5.10. The only major upgrade problem I've seen has been the introduction of native Unicode in Perl, which caused anything that assumed scalars to be made up of 8-bit bytes to break, but that's a pretty broken assumption, anyway.
So, in short, I don't think Python is exactly a paragon of backward compatibility. It may be better than Ruby, but it isn't a solved problem.
I also disagree with the assessment that TIMTOWTDI is a bug. But, me being a Perl coder may have warped my judgment. I find Ruby very intuitive--moreso than Python, even though I've written more Python code than Ruby.
That said, there are some serious deal-breakers in Ruby. Lack of Unicode is one of them. I wasn't among the folks criticizing Arc when it didn't have Unicode at first release...but if it had gone more than a year without Unicode, I would have joined the bandwagon of critics. And, once again, I think Perl has solved Unicode better than Python.