django/docs/topics/python3.txt

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======================
Python 3 compatibility
======================
Django 1.5 is the first version of Django to support Python 3. The same code
runs both on Python 2 (≥ 2.6.5) and Python 3 (≥ 3.2), thanks to the six_
compatibility layer and ``unicode_literals``.
.. _six: http://packages.python.org/six/
This document is not meant as a Python 2 to Python 3 migration guide. There
are many existing resources, including `Python's official porting guide`_.
Rather, it describes guidelines that apply to Django's code and are
recommended for pluggable apps that run with both Python 2 and 3.
.. _Python's official porting guide: http://docs.python.org/py3k/howto/pyporting.html
Syntax requirements
===================
Unicode
-------
In Python 3, all strings are considered Unicode by default. The ``unicode``
type from Python 2 is called ``str`` in Python 3, and ``str`` becomes
``bytes``.
You mustn't use the ``u`` prefix before a unicode string literal because it's
a syntax error in Python 3.2. You must prefix byte strings with ``b``.
In order to enable the same behavior in Python 2, every module must import
``unicode_literals`` from ``__future__``::
from __future__ import unicode_literals
my_string = "This is an unicode literal"
my_bytestring = b"This is a bytestring"
In classes, define ``__str__`` methods returning unicode strings and apply the
:func:`~django.utils.encoding.python_2_unicode_compatible` decorator. It will
define appropriate ``__unicode__`` and ``__str__`` in Python 2::
from __future__ import unicode_literals
from django.utils.encoding import python_2_unicode_compatible
@python_2_unicode_compatible
class MyClass(object):
def __str__(self):
return "Instance of my class"
If you need a byte string literal under Python 2 and a unicode string literal
under Python 3, use the :func:`str` builtin::
str('my string')
Be cautious if you have to `slice bytestrings`_.
.. _slice bytestrings: http://docs.python.org/py3k/howto/pyporting.html#bytes-literals
Exceptions
----------
When you capture exceptions, use the ``as`` keyword::
try:
...
except MyException as exc:
...
This older syntax was removed in Python 3::
try:
...
except MyException, exc:
...
The syntax to reraise an exception with a different traceback also changed.
Use :func:`six.reraise`.
.. module: django.utils.six
Writing compatible code with six
================================
six_ is the canonical compatibility library for supporting Python 2 and 3 in
a single codebase. Read its documentation!
:mod:`six` is bundled with Django: you can import it as :mod:`django.utils.six`.
Here are the most common changes required to write compatible code.
String types
------------
The ``basestring`` and ``unicode`` types were removed in Python 3, and the
meaning of ``str`` changed. To test these types, use the following idioms::
isinstance(myvalue, six.string_types) # replacement for basestring
isinstance(myvalue, six.text_type) # replacement for unicode
isinstance(myvalue, bytes) # replacement for str
Python ≥ 2.6 provides ``bytes`` as an alias for ``str``, so you don't need
:attr:`six.binary_type`.
``long``
--------
The ``long`` type no longer exists in Python 3. ``1L`` is a syntax error. Use
:data:`six.integer_types` check if a value is an integer or a long::
isinstance(myvalue, six.integer_types) # replacement for (int, long)
``xrange``
----------
Import :func:`six.moves.xrange` wherever you use ``xrange``.
Moved modules
-------------
Some modules were renamed in Python 3. The :mod:`django.utils.six.moves
<six.moves>` module provides a compatible location to import them.
In addition to six' defaults, Django's version provides ``dummy_thread`` as
``_dummy_thread``.
PY3
---
If you need different code in Python 2 and Python 3, check :data:`six.PY3`::
if six.PY3:
# do stuff Python 3-wise
else:
# do stuff Python 2-wise
This is a last resort solution when :mod:`six` doesn't provide an appropriate
function.
.. module:: django.utils.six
Customizations of six
=====================
The version of six bundled with Django includes a few additional tools:
.. function:: iterlists(MultiValueDict)
Returns an iterator over the lists of values of a
:class:`~django.utils.datastructures.MultiValueDict`. This replaces
:meth:`~django.utils.datastructures.MultiValueDict.iterlists()` on Python
2 and :meth:`~django.utils.datastructures.MultiValueDict.lists()` on
Python 3.