See :pep:`6` for more information about bugfix releases.
-Not all releases are bugfix releases. In the run-up to a new major release, a
+Not all releases are bugfix releases. In the run-up to a new minor release, a
series of development releases are made, denoted as alpha, beta, or release
candidate. Alphas are early releases in which interfaces aren't yet finalized;
it's not unexpected to see an interface change between two alpha releases.
Very stable. New, stable releases have been coming out roughly every 6 to 18
months since 1991, and this seems likely to continue. As of version 3.9,
-Python will have a major new release every 12 months (:pep:`602`).
+Python will have a minor new release every 12 months (:pep:`602`).
The developers issue "bugfix" releases of older versions, so the stability of
existing releases gradually improves. Bugfix releases, indicated by a third
import sys
sys.path.append('/www/python/')
-However, if you reinstall the same major version of Python (perhaps when
+However, if you reinstall the same minor version of Python (perhaps when
upgrading from 2.2 to 2.2.2, for example) :file:`site.py` will be overwritten by
the stock version. You'd have to remember that it was modified and save a copy
before doing the installation.