Moving to Python 3

“Python 3.0 was released at the end of 2008, but so far only a
relatively small number of packages have been updated to support
the latest release; the majority of Python software still only
supports Python 2. Python 3 introduced changes to Unicode and
string handling, module importing, integer representation and
division, print statements, and a number of other differences. This
article will cover some of the changes that cause the most problems
when porting code from Python 2 to Python 3, and will present some
strategies for managing a single code base that supports both major
versions.

“The changes that made it into Python 3 were originally part of
a plan called “Python 3000″ as sort of a joke about language
changes that could only be done in the distant future. The changes
made up a laundry list of inconsistencies and inconvenient designs
in the Python language that would have been really nice to fix, but
had to wait because fixing them meant breaking all existing Python
code. Eventually the weight of all the changes led the Python
developers to decide to just fix the problems with a real stable
release, and accept the fact that it will take a few years for most
packages and users to make the switch.”

Complete Story