virtualenv is still widely used - but it lacks some crucial features that pyenv provides for standardized installation methods. Prior to pyenv becoming popular, many python developers used virtualenv to manage environment versions. It's similar to the better-known tool that is commonly used in ruby development - rbenv.

It allows developers to define which version of python to use on a per-project basis. Pyenv is an open-source tool used for managing multiple python environments. Fortunately, there is a tool called pyenv that will allow us to safely install the latest python version - regardless of whether we have a system python version installed or not. Updating it can break certain tools that our operating system needs for essential tasks, including dependency management software.

In cases where older are versions present, it is unsafe to update system python directly. In other cases, the command above could fail completely, indicting that python is not installed at all. The output above indicates that the system version of python installed is much older than 3.7.

Python install pip mac