In Memoriam of Python 2.7

Python 2 will reach end of life in January, 2020. From that point onwards, the language will not be maintained and security fixes will no longer be available. To celebrate 10 amazing years, we organized an Irish Wake on November 12, 2019, and invited several prominent Pythonistas to participate in a roast of Python 2. Watch the video from the IndyPy event here.

python 3 lifting weights

10 Reasons to Upgrade to Python 3

  1. You can now use AsyncIO
  2. Text strings are Unicode out-of-the-box (no more UnicodeDecodeError nonsense)
  3. You can debug your code easier with the new breakpoint() built-in
  4. More intuitive integer division
  5. Faster Dictionaries; determinism is good
  6. More secure (raw_input() has been removed)
  7. Rules of ordering comparisons have been simplified
  8. Many new libraries not available in Python 2
  9. Community support is much better
  10. The sooner everyone upgrades, the sooner we can stop writing code compatible with both 2 and 3

“Never put off till tomorrow what may be done the day after January 1, 2020, just as well.”
― Mark Twain, Pythonista Extraordinaire

Check out the full blog post on reasons to upgrade here: https://sixfeetup.com/blog/why-you-should-upgrade-to-python-3

python strapped to a rocket

Tips for Upgrading to Python 3

  1. Have good test coverage
  2. Use Futurize to update your code or py2to3
  3. Don’t regress on your Python 3 support
  4. Find out your blocker dependencies with caniusepython3
  5. Pay attention when using text compared to binary data
  6. Use feature detection at import to stay future-compatible
  7. When maintaining Python 2 and 3 compatible code, use the __future__ modules
  8. Update your setup.py file to denote Python 3 compatibility
  9. Do trigger an exception when comparing bytes to strings or bytes to an int
  10. Look at Python 2 to Python 3 case studies

Check out the full blog post on tips + tricks to upgrade to Python 3 here: https://sixfeetup.com/blog/10-tips-for-upgrading-to-python-3

How We Can Help?

At Six Feet Up, we have close to 20 years of experience developing in Python. We have completed numerous Python 3 upgrades and will be happy to help you with your upgrade project. To get started, let’s schedule a complimentary 15 min call to go over 5 key elements of your project, otherwise known as a Project 5™ review.

Fill out the form below or go to the Contact Us page to get started. 

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