Python maintenance team has a problem with the latest Python 3.11 stack in RHEL 8 and we think a simple change in setup package can help us fix it.

In RHEL 8, all Python stacks provide /usr/bin/python3 which is then configured by alternatives. We have one main Python (3.6) and then alternative stacks (3.9, 3.11) with shorter support. The problem is that when a user runs `dnf install /usr/bin/python3` dnf chooses Python 3.11 because it's (alphabetically sorted) higher in the list of possible alternatives than Python 3.6.

If you want to get the whole context, read: https://issues.redhat.com/browse/RHEL-2113

The proposed solution is to add `Suggests: python36` to a package that is omnipresent in all environments. This does not add any new dependency and Python 3.6 won't be pulled by default. What it does is that when dnf finds multiple packages satisfying the requirement of /usr/bin/python3, python36 will have a higher priority because it will also be suggested by the setup package.

Verification:

Current status:

dnf install -y /usr/bin/python3
…
Installing       : python3.11-3.11.5-1.el8_9.x86_64

When setup contains the suggests:

dnf install -y /usr/bin/python3
…
Installing       : python36-3.6.8-38.module+el8.5.0+12207+5c5719bc.x86_64

I'm gonna open an MR for this change in a bit.