.. _compatible-idioms:
 
Cheat Sheet: Writing Python 2-3 compatible code
===============================================

-  **Copyright (c):** 2013-2015 Python Charmers Pty Ltd, Australia.
-  **Author:** Ed Schofield.
-  **Licence:** Creative Commons Attribution.

A PDF version is here: http://python-future.org/compatible\_idioms.pdf

This notebook shows you idioms for writing future-proof code that is
compatible with both versions of Python: 2 and 3. It accompanies Ed
Schofield's talk at PyCon AU 2014, "Writing 2/3 compatible code". (The
video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOqk8j11aAI&t=10m14s.)

Minimum versions:

-  Python 2: 2.6+
-  Python 3: 3.3+

Setup
-----

The imports below refer to these ``pip``-installable packages on PyPI:

::

    import future        # pip install future
    import builtins      # pip install future
    import past          # pip install future
    import six           # pip install six

The following scripts are also ``pip``-installable:

::

    futurize             # pip install future
    pasteurize           # pip install future

See http://python-future.org and https://pythonhosted.org/six/ for more
information.

Essential syntax differences
----------------------------

print
~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    print 'Hello'
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    print('Hello')
To print multiple strings, import ``print_function`` to prevent Py2 from
interpreting it as a tuple:

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    print 'Hello', 'Guido'
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    from __future__ import print_function    # (at top of module)
    
    print('Hello', 'Guido')
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    print >> sys.stderr, 'Hello'
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    from __future__ import print_function
    
    print('Hello', file=sys.stderr)
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    print 'Hello',
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    from __future__ import print_function
    
    print('Hello', end='')
Raising exceptions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    raise ValueError, "dodgy value"
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    raise ValueError("dodgy value")
Raising exceptions with a traceback:

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    traceback = sys.exc_info()[2]
    raise ValueError, "dodgy value", traceback
.. code:: python

    # Python 3 only:
    raise ValueError("dodgy value").with_traceback()
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 1
    from six import reraise as raise_
    # or
    from future.utils import raise_
    
    traceback = sys.exc_info()[2]
    raise_(ValueError, "dodgy value", traceback)
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 2
    from future.utils import raise_with_traceback
    
    raise_with_traceback(ValueError("dodgy value"))
Exception chaining (PEP 3134):

.. code:: python

    # Setup:
    class DatabaseError(Exception):
        pass
.. code:: python

    # Python 3 only
    class FileDatabase:
        def __init__(self, filename):
            try:
                self.file = open(filename)
            except IOError as exc:
                raise DatabaseError('failed to open') from exc
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    from future.utils import raise_from
    
    class FileDatabase:
        def __init__(self, filename):
            try:
                self.file = open(filename)
            except IOError as exc:
                raise_from(DatabaseError('failed to open'), exc)
.. code:: python

    # Testing the above:
    try:
        fd = FileDatabase('non_existent_file.txt')
    except Exception as e:
        assert isinstance(e.__cause__, IOError)    # FileNotFoundError on Py3.3+ inherits from IOError
Catching exceptions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    try:
        ...
    except ValueError, e:
        ...
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    try:
        ...
    except ValueError as e:
        ...
Division
~~~~~~~~

Integer division (rounding down):

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    assert 2 / 3 == 0
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    assert 2 // 3 == 0
"True division" (float division):

.. code:: python

    # Python 3 only:
    assert 3 / 2 == 1.5
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    from __future__ import division    # (at top of module)
    
    assert 3 / 2 == 1.5
"Old division" (i.e. compatible with Py2 behaviour):

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    a = b / c            # with any types
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    from past.utils import old_div
    
    a = old_div(b, c)    # always same as / on Py2
Long integers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Short integers are gone in Python 3 and ``long`` has become ``int``
(without the trailing ``L`` in the ``repr``).

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only
    k = 9223372036854775808L
    
    # Python 2 and 3:
    k = 9223372036854775808
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only
    bigint = 1L
    
    # Python 2 and 3
    from builtins import int
    bigint = int(1)
To test whether a value is an integer (of any kind):

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    if isinstance(x, (int, long)):
        ...
    
    # Python 3 only:
    if isinstance(x, int):
        ...
    
    # Python 2 and 3: option 1
    from builtins import int    # subclass of long on Py2
    
    if isinstance(x, int):             # matches both int and long on Py2
        ...
    
    # Python 2 and 3: option 2
    from past.builtins import long
    
    if isinstance(x, (int, long)):
        ...
Octal constants
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    0644     # Python 2 only
.. code:: python

    0o644    # Python 2 and 3
Backtick repr
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    `x`      # Python 2 only
.. code:: python

    repr(x)  # Python 2 and 3
Metaclasses
~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    class BaseForm(object):
        pass
    
    class FormType(type):
        pass
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    class Form(BaseForm):
        __metaclass__ = FormType
        pass
.. code:: python

    # Python 3 only:
    class Form(BaseForm, metaclass=FormType):
        pass
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    from six import with_metaclass
    # or
    from future.utils import with_metaclass
    
    class Form(with_metaclass(FormType, BaseForm)):
        pass
Strings and bytes
-----------------

Unicode (text) string literals
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you are upgrading an existing Python 2 codebase, it may be preferable
to mark up all string literals as unicode explicitly with ``u``
prefixes:

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only
    s1 = 'The Zen of Python'
    s2 = u'きたないのよりきれいな方がいい\n'
    
    # Python 2 and 3
    s1 = u'The Zen of Python'
    s2 = u'きたないのよりきれいな方がいい\n'
The ``futurize`` and ``python-modernize`` tools do not currently offer
an option to do this automatically.

If you are writing code for a new project or new codebase, you can use
this idiom to make all string literals in a module unicode strings:

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3
    from __future__ import unicode_literals    # at top of module
    
    s1 = 'The Zen of Python'
    s2 = 'きたないのよりきれいな方がいい\n'
See http://python-future.org/unicode\_literals.html for more discussion
on which style to use.

Byte-string literals
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only
    s = 'This must be a byte-string'
    
    # Python 2 and 3
    s = b'This must be a byte-string'
To loop over a byte-string with possible high-bit characters, obtaining
each character as a byte-string of length 1:

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    for bytechar in 'byte-string with high-bit chars like \xf9':
        ...
    
    # Python 3 only:
    for myint in b'byte-string with high-bit chars like \xf9':
        bytechar = bytes([myint])
    
    # Python 2 and 3:
    from builtins import bytes
    for myint in bytes(b'byte-string with high-bit chars like \xf9'):
        bytechar = bytes([myint])
As an alternative, ``chr()`` and ``.encode('latin-1')`` can be used to
convert an int into a 1-char byte string:

.. code:: python

    # Python 3 only:
    for myint in b'byte-string with high-bit chars like \xf9':
        char = chr(myint)    # returns a unicode string
        bytechar = char.encode('latin-1')
    
    # Python 2 and 3:
    from builtins import bytes, chr
    for myint in bytes(b'byte-string with high-bit chars like \xf9'):
        char = chr(myint)    # returns a unicode string
        bytechar = char.encode('latin-1')    # forces returning a byte str
basestring
~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    a = u'abc'
    b = 'def'
    assert (isinstance(a, basestring) and isinstance(b, basestring))
    
    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 1
    from past.builtins import basestring    # pip install future
    
    a = u'abc'
    b = b'def'
    assert (isinstance(a, basestring) and isinstance(b, basestring))
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 2: refactor the code to avoid considering
    # byte-strings as strings.
    
    from builtins import str
    a = u'abc'
    b = b'def'
    c = b.decode()
    assert isinstance(a, str) and isinstance(c, str)
    # ...
unicode
~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    templates = [u"blog/blog_post_detail_%s.html" % unicode(slug)]
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 1
    from builtins import str
    templates = [u"blog/blog_post_detail_%s.html" % str(slug)]
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 2
    from builtins import str as text
    templates = [u"blog/blog_post_detail_%s.html" % text(slug)]
StringIO
~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    from StringIO import StringIO
    # or:
    from cStringIO import StringIO
    
    # Python 2 and 3:
    from io import BytesIO     # for handling byte strings
    from io import StringIO    # for handling unicode strings
Imports relative to a package
-----------------------------

Suppose the package is:

::

    mypackage/
        __init__.py
        submodule1.py
        submodule2.py
        

and the code below is in ``submodule1.py``:

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only: 
    import submodule2
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    from . import submodule2
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    # To make Py2 code safer (more like Py3) by preventing
    # implicit relative imports, you can also add this to the top:
    from __future__ import absolute_import
Dictionaries
------------

.. code:: python

    heights = {'Fred': 175, 'Anne': 166, 'Joe': 192}
Iterating through ``dict`` keys/values/items
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iterable dict keys:

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    for key in heights.iterkeys():
        ...
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    for key in heights:
        ...
Iterable dict values:

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    for value in heights.itervalues():
        ...
.. code:: python

    # Idiomatic Python 3
    for value in heights.values():    # extra memory overhead on Py2
        ...
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 1
    from builtins import dict
    
    heights = dict(Fred=175, Anne=166, Joe=192)
    for key in heights.values():    # efficient on Py2 and Py3
        ...
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 2
    from builtins import itervalues
    # or
    from six import itervalues
    
    for key in itervalues(heights):
        ...
Iterable dict items:

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    for (key, value) in heights.iteritems():
        ...
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 1
    for (key, value) in heights.items():    # inefficient on Py2    
        ...
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 2
    from future.utils import viewitems
    
    for (key, value) in viewitems(heights):   # also behaves like a set
        ...
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 3
    from future.utils import iteritems
    # or
    from six import iteritems
    
    for (key, value) in iteritems(heights):
        ...
dict keys/values/items as a list
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

dict keys as a list:

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    keylist = heights.keys()
    assert isinstance(keylist, list)
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    keylist = list(heights)
    assert isinstance(keylist, list)
dict values as a list:

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    heights = {'Fred': 175, 'Anne': 166, 'Joe': 192}
    valuelist = heights.values()
    assert isinstance(valuelist, list)
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 1
    valuelist = list(heights.values())    # inefficient on Py2
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 2
    from builtins import dict
    
    heights = dict(Fred=175, Anne=166, Joe=192)
    valuelist = list(heights.values())
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 3
    from future.utils import listvalues
    
    valuelist = listvalues(heights)
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 4
    from future.utils import itervalues
    # or
    from six import itervalues
    
    valuelist = list(itervalues(heights))
dict items as a list:

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 1
    itemlist = list(heights.items())    # inefficient on Py2
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 2
    from future.utils import listitems
    
    itemlist = listitems(heights)
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 3
    from future.utils import iteritems
    # or
    from six import iteritems
    
    itemlist = list(iteritems(heights))
Custom class behaviour
----------------------

Custom iterators
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only
    class Upper(object):
        def __init__(self, iterable):
            self._iter = iter(iterable)
        def next(self):          # Py2-style
            return self._iter.next().upper()
        def __iter__(self):
            return self
    
    itr = Upper('hello')
    assert itr.next() == 'H'     # Py2-style
    assert list(itr) == list('ELLO')
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 1
    from builtins import object
    
    class Upper(object):
        def __init__(self, iterable):
            self._iter = iter(iterable)
        def __next__(self):      # Py3-style iterator interface
            return next(self._iter).upper()  # builtin next() function calls
        def __iter__(self):
            return self
    
    itr = Upper('hello')
    assert next(itr) == 'H'      # compatible style
    assert list(itr) == list('ELLO')
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 2
    from future.utils import implements_iterator
    
    @implements_iterator
    class Upper(object):
        def __init__(self, iterable):
            self._iter = iter(iterable)
        def __next__(self):                  # Py3-style iterator interface
            return next(self._iter).upper()  # builtin next() function calls
        def __iter__(self):
            return self
    
    itr = Upper('hello')
    assert next(itr) == 'H'
    assert list(itr) == list('ELLO')
Custom ``__str__`` methods
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    class MyClass(object):
        def __unicode__(self):
            return 'Unicode string: \u5b54\u5b50'
        def __str__(self):
            return unicode(self).encode('utf-8')
    
    a = MyClass()
    print(a)    # prints encoded string
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    from future.utils import python_2_unicode_compatible
    
    @python_2_unicode_compatible
    class MyClass(object):
        def __str__(self):
            return u'Unicode string: \u5b54\u5b50'
    
    a = MyClass()
    print(a)    # prints string encoded as utf-8 on Py2

.. parsed-literal::

    Unicode string: 孔子


Custom ``__nonzero__`` vs ``__bool__`` method:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    class AllOrNothing(object):
        def __init__(self, l):
            self.l = l
        def __nonzero__(self):
            return all(self.l)
    
    container = AllOrNothing([0, 100, 200])
    assert not bool(container)
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    from builtins import object
    
    class AllOrNothing(object):
        def __init__(self, l):
            self.l = l
        def __bool__(self):
            return all(self.l)
    
    container = AllOrNothing([0, 100, 200])
    assert not bool(container)
Lists versus iterators
----------------------

xrange
~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    for i in xrange(10**8):
        ...
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: forward-compatible
    from builtins import range
    for i in range(10**8):
        ...
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: backward-compatible
    from past.builtins import xrange
    for i in xrange(10**8):
        ...
range
~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only
    mylist = range(5)
    assert mylist == [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: forward-compatible: option 1
    mylist = list(range(5))            # copies memory on Py2
    assert mylist == [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: forward-compatible: option 2
    from builtins import range
    
    mylist = list(range(5))
    assert mylist == [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 3
    from future.utils import lrange
    
    mylist = lrange(5)
    assert mylist == [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: backward compatible
    from past.builtins import range
    
    mylist = range(5)
    assert mylist == [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]
map
~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    mynewlist = map(f, myoldlist)
    assert mynewlist == [f(x) for x in myoldlist]
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 1
    # Idiomatic Py3, but inefficient on Py2
    mynewlist = list(map(f, myoldlist))
    assert mynewlist == [f(x) for x in myoldlist]
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 2
    from builtins import map
    
    mynewlist = list(map(f, myoldlist))
    assert mynewlist == [f(x) for x in myoldlist]
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 3
    try:
        import itertools.imap as map
    except ImportError:
        pass
    
    mynewlist = list(map(f, myoldlist))    # inefficient on Py2
    assert mynewlist == [f(x) for x in myoldlist]
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 4
    from future.utils import lmap
    
    mynewlist = lmap(f, myoldlist)
    assert mynewlist == [f(x) for x in myoldlist]
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 5
    from past.builtins import map
    
    mynewlist = map(f, myoldlist)
    assert mynewlist == [f(x) for x in myoldlist]
imap
~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    from itertools import imap
    
    myiter = imap(func, myoldlist)
    assert isinstance(myiter, iter)
.. code:: python

    # Python 3 only:
    myiter = map(func, myoldlist)
    assert isinstance(myiter, iter)
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 1
    from builtins import map
    
    myiter = map(func, myoldlist)
    assert isinstance(myiter, iter)
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 2
    try:
        import itertools.imap as map
    except ImportError:
        pass
    
    myiter = map(func, myoldlist)
    assert isinstance(myiter, iter)
zip, izip
~~~~~~~~~

As above with ``zip`` and ``itertools.izip``.

filter, ifilter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As above with ``filter`` and ``itertools.ifilter`` too.

Other builtins
--------------

File IO with open()
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only
    f = open('myfile.txt')
    data = f.read()              # as a byte string
    text = data.decode('utf-8')
    
    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 1
    from io import open
    f = open('myfile.txt', 'rb')
    data = f.read()              # as bytes
    text = data.decode('utf-8')  # unicode, not bytes
    
    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 2
    from io import open
    f = open('myfile.txt', encoding='utf-8')
    text = f.read()    # unicode, not bytes
reduce()
~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    assert reduce(lambda x, y: x+y, [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]) == 1+2+3+4+5
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    from functools import reduce
    
    assert reduce(lambda x, y: x+y, [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]) == 1+2+3+4+5
raw\_input()
~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    name = raw_input('What is your name? ')
    assert isinstance(name, str)    # native str
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    from builtins import input
    
    name = input('What is your name? ')
    assert isinstance(name, str)    # native str on Py2 and Py3
input()
~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    input("Type something safe please: ")
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3
    from builtins import input
    eval(input("Type something safe please: "))
Warning: using either of these is **unsafe** with untrusted input.

file()
~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    f = file(pathname)
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    f = open(pathname)
    
    # But preferably, use this:
    from io import open
    f = open(pathname, 'rb')   # if f.read() should return bytes
    # or
    f = open(pathname, 'rt')   # if f.read() should return unicode text
exec
~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    exec 'x = 10'

    # Python 2 and 3:
    exec('x = 10')
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    g = globals()
    exec 'x = 10' in g

    # Python 2 and 3:
    g = globals()
    exec('x = 10', g)
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    l = locals()
    exec 'x = 10' in g, l

    # Python 2 and 3:
    exec('x = 10', g, l)
execfile()
~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    execfile('myfile.py')
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 1
    from past.builtins import execfile
    
    execfile('myfile.py')
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 2
    exec(compile(open('myfile.py').read()))
    
    # This can sometimes cause this:
    #     SyntaxError: function ... uses import * and bare exec ...
    # See https://github.com/PythonCharmers/python-future/issues/37
unichr()
~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    assert unichr(8364) == '€'
.. code:: python

    # Python 3 only:
    assert chr(8364) == '€'
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    from builtins import chr
    assert chr(8364) == '€'
intern()
~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    intern('mystring')
.. code:: python

    # Python 3 only:
    from sys import intern
    intern('mystring')
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 1
    from past.builtins import intern
    intern('mystring')
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 2
    from six.moves import intern
    intern('mystring')
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 3
    from future.standard_library import install_aliases
    install_aliases()
    from sys import intern
    intern('mystring')
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 2
    try:
        from sys import intern
    except ImportError:
        pass
    intern('mystring')
apply()
~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    args = ('a', 'b')
    kwargs = {'kwarg1': True}
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    apply(f, args, kwargs)
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 1
    f(*args, **kwargs)
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 2
    from past.builtins import apply
    apply(f, args, kwargs)
chr()
~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    assert chr(64) == b'@'
    assert chr(200) == b'\xc8'
.. code:: python

    # Python 3 only: option 1
    assert chr(64).encode('latin-1') == b'@'
    assert chr(0xc8).encode('latin-1') == b'\xc8'
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 1
    from builtins import chr
    
    assert chr(64).encode('latin-1') == b'@'
    assert chr(0xc8).encode('latin-1') == b'\xc8'
.. code:: python

    # Python 3 only: option 2
    assert bytes([64]) == b'@'
    assert bytes([0xc8]) == b'\xc8'
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: option 2
    from builtins import bytes
    
    assert bytes([64]) == b'@'
    assert bytes([0xc8]) == b'\xc8'
cmp()
~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    assert cmp('a', 'b') < 0 and cmp('b', 'a') > 0 and cmp('c', 'c') == 0
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 1
    from past.builtins import cmp
    assert cmp('a', 'b') < 0 and cmp('b', 'a') > 0 and cmp('c', 'c') == 0
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 2
    cmp = lambda(x, y): (x > y) - (x < y)
    assert cmp('a', 'b') < 0 and cmp('b', 'a') > 0 and cmp('c', 'c') == 0
reload()
~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    reload(mymodule)
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3
    from imp import reload
    reload(mymodule)
Standard library
----------------

dbm modules
~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only
    import anydbm
    import whichdb
    import dbm
    import dumbdbm
    import gdbm
    
    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 1
    from future import standard_library
    standard_library.install_aliases()
    
    import dbm
    import dbm.ndbm
    import dbm.dumb
    import dbm.gnu
    
    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 2
    from future.moves import dbm
    from future.moves.dbm import dumb
    from future.moves.dbm import ndbm
    from future.moves.dbm import gnu
    
    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 3
    from six.moves import dbm_gnu
    # (others not supported)
commands / subprocess modules
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only
    from commands import getoutput, getstatusoutput
    
    # Python 2 and 3
    from future import standard_library
    standard_library.install_aliases()
    
    from subprocess import getoutput, getstatusoutput
subprocess.check\_output()
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2.7 and above
    from subprocess import check_output
    
    # Python 2.6 and above: alternative 1
    from future.moves.subprocess import check_output
    
    # Python 2.6 and above: alternative 2
    from future import standard_library
    standard_library.install_aliases()
    
    from subprocess import check_output
collections: Counter and OrderedDict
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2.7 and above
    from collections import Counter, OrderedDict
    
    # Python 2.6 and above: alternative 1
    from future.moves.collections import Counter, OrderedDict
    
    # Python 2.6 and above: alternative 2
    from future import standard_library
    standard_library.install_aliases()
    
    from collections import Counter, OrderedDict
StringIO module
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only
    from StringIO import StringIO
    from cStringIO import StringIO
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3
    from io import BytesIO
    # and refactor StringIO() calls to BytesIO() if passing byte-strings
http module
~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    import httplib
    import Cookie
    import cookielib
    import BaseHTTPServer
    import SimpleHTTPServer
    import CGIHttpServer
    
    # Python 2 and 3 (after ``pip install future``):
    import http.client
    import http.cookies
    import http.cookiejar
    import http.server
xmlrpc module
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    import DocXMLRPCServer
    import SimpleXMLRPCServer
    
    # Python 2 and 3 (after ``pip install future``):
    import xmlrpc.server
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    import xmlrpclib
    
    # Python 2 and 3 (after ``pip install future``):
    import xmlrpc.client
html escaping and entities
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3:
    from cgi import escape
    
    # Safer (Python 2 and 3, after ``pip install future``):
    from html import escape
    
    # Python 2 only:
    from htmlentitydefs import codepoint2name, entitydefs, name2codepoint
    
    # Python 2 and 3 (after ``pip install future``):
    from html.entities import codepoint2name, entitydefs, name2codepoint
html parsing
~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    from HTMLParser import HTMLParser
    
    # Python 2 and 3 (after ``pip install future``)
    from html.parser import HTMLParser
    
    # Python 2 and 3 (alternative 2):
    from future.moves.html.parser import HTMLParser
urllib module
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

``urllib`` is the hardest module to use from Python 2/3 compatible code.
You may like to use Requests (http://python-requests.org) instead.

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    from urlparse import urlparse
    from urllib import urlencode
    from urllib2 import urlopen, Request, HTTPError
.. code:: python

    # Python 3 only:
    from urllib.parse import urlparse, urlencode
    from urllib.request import urlopen, Request
    from urllib.error import HTTPError
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: easiest option
    from future.standard_library import install_aliases
    install_aliases()
    
    from urllib.parse import urlparse, urlencode
    from urllib.request import urlopen, Request
    from urllib.error import HTTPError
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 2
    from future.standard_library import hooks
    
    with hooks():
        from urllib.parse import urlparse, urlencode
        from urllib.request import urlopen, Request
        from urllib.error import HTTPError
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 3
    from future.moves.urllib.parse import urlparse, urlencode
    from future.moves.urllib.request import urlopen, Request
    from future.moves.urllib.error import HTTPError
    # or
    from six.moves.urllib.parse import urlparse, urlencode
    from six.moves.urllib.request import urlopen
    from six.moves.urllib.error import HTTPError
.. code:: python

    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 4
    try:
        from urllib.parse import urlparse, urlencode
        from urllib.request import urlopen, Request
        from urllib.error import HTTPError
    except ImportError:
        from urlparse import urlparse
        from urllib import urlencode
        from urllib2 import urlopen, Request, HTTPError
Tkinter
~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    import Tkinter
    import Dialog
    import FileDialog
    import ScrolledText
    import SimpleDialog
    import Tix  
    import Tkconstants
    import Tkdnd   
    import tkColorChooser
    import tkCommonDialog
    import tkFileDialog
    import tkFont
    import tkMessageBox
    import tkSimpleDialog
    import ttk
    
    # Python 2 and 3 (after ``pip install future``):
    import tkinter
    import tkinter.dialog
    import tkinter.filedialog
    import tkinter.scrolledtext
    import tkinter.simpledialog
    import tkinter.tix
    import tkinter.constants
    import tkinter.dnd
    import tkinter.colorchooser
    import tkinter.commondialog
    import tkinter.filedialog
    import tkinter.font
    import tkinter.messagebox
    import tkinter.simpledialog
    import tkinter.ttk
socketserver
~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    import SocketServer
    
    # Python 2 and 3 (after ``pip install future``):
    import socketserver
copy\_reg, copyreg
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    import copy_reg
    
    # Python 2 and 3 (after ``pip install future``):
    import copyreg
configparser
~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    from ConfigParser import ConfigParser
    
    # Python 2 and 3 (after ``pip install future``):
    from configparser import ConfigParser
queue
~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    from Queue import Queue, heapq, deque
    
    # Python 2 and 3 (after ``pip install future``):
    from queue import Queue, heapq, deque
repr, reprlib
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    from repr import aRepr, repr
    
    # Python 2 and 3 (after ``pip install future``):
    from reprlib import aRepr, repr
UserDict, UserList, UserString
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    from UserDict import UserDict
    from UserList import UserList
    from UserString import UserString
    
    # Python 3 only:
    from collections import UserDict, UserList, UserString
    
    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 1
    from future.moves.collections import UserDict, UserList, UserString
    
    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 2
    from six.moves import UserDict, UserList, UserString
    
    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 3
    from future.standard_library import install_aliases
    install_aliases()
    from collections import UserDict, UserList, UserString
itertools: filterfalse, zip\_longest
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. code:: python

    # Python 2 only:
    from itertools import ifilterfalse, izip_longest
    
    # Python 3 only:
    from itertools import filterfalse, zip_longest
    
    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 1
    from future.moves.itertools import filterfalse, zip_longest
    
    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 2
    from six.moves import filterfalse, zip_longest
    
    # Python 2 and 3: alternative 3
    from future.standard_library import install_aliases
    install_aliases()
    from itertools import filterfalse, zip_longest
