Python 2.3.2

Note: See Python 2.3.5 for a patch release release which supersedes earlier releases of 2.3.

Important: This release is vulnerable to the problem described in security advisory PSF-2006-001 "Buffer overrun in repr() of unicode strings in wide unicode builds (UCS-4)". This fix is included in Python 2.4.4 and Python 2.5. If you need to remain with Python 2.3, there's a patch available from the security advisory page.

Important: 2.3.5 includes a security fix for SimpleXMLRPCServer.py.

We're happy to announce the release of Python 2.3.2 (final) on October 3rd, 2003. This is a bug-fix release for Python 2.3.1 that fixes a couple of build errors and a couple of packaging errors in the previous release. It supersedes the original Python 2.3.1 release.

No new features have been added in Python 2.3.2. Instead, this release is to fix a couple of build errors and packaging errors. In particular, a workaround for a bug in autoconf on HP/UX, and an error in the configure script that meant os.fsync() was never available.

None of the bugs in 2.3.1 affect the Windows platforms. If you have previously downloaded Python 2.3.1 for Windows, there's no need to upgrade to 2.3.2. (But if you're still at 2.3 or before, downloading 2.3.2 is a good idea.)

Please see the separate bugs page for known issues and the bug reporting procedure.

Download the release

Windows users should download the Windows installer, Python-2.3.2-1.exe, run it and follow the friendly instructions on the screen to complete the installation. Windows users may also be interested in Mark Hammond's win32all, a collection of Windows-specific extensions including COM support and Pythonwin, an IDE built using Windows components.

Please note that the original Windows installer had a problem with some dll files shipped with the installer. This was reported to cause problems on some Windows 98 and Windows NT machines. The replacement installer (with a -1 extension) should address this problem. We apologise to anyone who was affected by this.

RPMs suitable for Redhat and source RPMs for other RPM-using operating systems are available from the RPMs page.

All others should download either Python-2.3.2.tgz or Python-2.3.2.tar.bz2, the source archive. The tar.bz2 is considerably smaller, so get that one if your system has the appropriate tools to deal with it. Unpack it with "tar -zxvf Python-2.3.2.tgz" (or "bzcat Python-2.3.2.tar.bz2 | tar -xf -"). Change to the Python-2.3.2 directory and run the "./configure", "make", "make install" commands to compile and install Python.

If you're having trouble building on your system, check the top-level README file for platform-specific tips, or check the Build Bugs section on the Bugs webpage.

What's New?

• See the highlights of the Python 2.3 release. As noted, the 2.3.2 release is a bugfix release of 2.3.1, itself a bugfix release of 2.3.

• The Windows installer now includes the documentation in searchable htmlhelp format, rather than individual HTML files. You can still download the individual HTML files.

• Andrew Kuchling's What's New in Python 2.3 describes the most visible changes since Python 2.2 in more detail.

• A detailed list of the changes is in the release notes, or the Misc/NEWS file in the source distribution.

• For the full list of changes, you can poke around in CVS.

• The PSF's press release announcing 2.3.2.

Documentation

The documentation has been updated too:

• Browse HTML documentation on-line
• Download using HTTP.

The interim documentation for new-style classes, last seen for Python 2.2.3, is still relevant for Python 2.3.2. Raymond Hettinger has also written a tutorial on descriptors, introduced in Python 2.2. In addition, The Python 2.3 Method Resolution Order is a nice paper by Michele Simionato that explains the C3 MRO algorithm (new in Python 2.3) clearly. (Also available as reStructured Text. Copied with permission.)

Files, MD5 checksums, signatures, and sizes

f54d7a529d444994b4b33429bbb45479 Python-2.3.2.tgz (8459427 bytes, signature)
9271171d55690e5cacd692e563924305 Python-2.3.2.tar.bz2 (7161770 bytes, signature)
87aed0e4a79c350065b770f9a4ddfd75 Python-2.3.2-1.exe (9481060 bytes, signature)

The signatures above were generated with GnuPG using the release manager's (Anthony Baxter) public key which has a key id of 6A45C816.