Bash alias -- Python 2 7 to Python 3 3

Question

I want to make Python 3.4.2 the default in Linux. I do not have complete knowledge about this but I have read in several places online that you can simply put an alias in the ~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_aliases file like this:

alias python='python3'
 

I don't have either the ~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_aliases file. I have created that but the alias doesn't seem to be working. Am I missing something? Do you need the shebang at the beginning of the file? Can anyone help me with this?

Answer 1

Some linux utilities depend on python2.x currently. It will probably break your system if you make that change since python3.x is not backward compatible with python2.x. Unless you are fully aware of the consequences, I would suggest you to not do it.