Python 3.8 alpha in Fedora

The Python developers have released the first alpha of Python 3.8.0 and you can already try it out in Fedora! Test your Python code with 3.8 early to avoid surprises once the final 3.8.0 is out in October.

Install Python 3.8 on Fedora

If you have Fedora 29 or newer, you can install Python 3.8 from the official software repository with dnf:

$ sudo dnf install python38

As more alphas, betas and release candidates of Python 3.8 will be released, the Fedora package will receive updates. No need to compile your own development version of Python, just install it and have it up to date. New features will be added until the first beta.

Test your projects with Python 3.8

Run the python3.8 command to use Python 3.8 or create virtual environments with the builtin venv module, tox or with pipenv. For example:

$ git clone https://github.com/benjaminp/six.git
Cloning into 'six'...
$ cd six/
$ tox -e py38
py38 runtests: commands[0] | python -m pytest -rfsxX
================== test session starts ===================
platform linux -- Python 3.8.0a1, pytest-4.2.1, py-1.7.0, pluggy-0.8.1
collected 195 items                                      

test_six.py ...................................... [ 19%]
.................................................. [ 45%]
.................................................. [ 70%]
..............................................s... [ 96%]
.......                                            [100%]
========= 194 passed, 1 skipped in 0.25 seconds ==========
________________________ summary _________________________
  py38: commands succeeded
  congratulations :) 

What’s new in Python 3.8

So far, only the first alpha was released, so more features will come. You can however already try out the new walrus operator:

$ python3.8
Python 3.8.0a1 (default, Feb  7 2019, 08:07:33) 
[GCC 8.2.1 20181215 (Red Hat 8.2.1-6)] on linux
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> while not (answer := input('Say something: ')):
...     print("I don't like empty answers, try again...")
... 
Say something: 
I don't like empty answers, try again...
Say something: Fedora
>>>

And stay tuned for Python 3.8 as python3 in Fedora 31!