Gain insights into Python 3's new syntax, data types, strings, bytes, and iterators through interactive coding samples. Upgrade your Python skills with hands-on, real-time code modifications.

Are you ready to take the plunge into Python 3? You might be just getting started with Python or you might be someone who understands Python2 and now wants to upgrade to Python 3. This course is designed to help you achieve your goal faster.

Learn about the new syntax, data types, strings, bytes, iterators and much more with interactive coding samples. Execute code using interactive playgrounds, modify the code to see your changes in action and get yourself upgraded to the newest version of Python that is here to stay for a while.

This course is derived from Dive into Python 3 by Mark Pilgrim. See License for more details.
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Python 3: An interactive deep dive

The Distutils setup script is a Python script. In theory, it can do anything Python can do. In practice, it should do as little as possible, in as standard a way as possible. Setup scripts should be boring. The more exotic your installation process is, the more exotic your bug reports will be.

The first line of every Distutils setup script is always the same:

This imports the `setup()` function, which is the main entry point into Distutils. 95% of all Distutils setup scripts consist of a single call to `setup()` and nothing else. (I totally just made up that statistic, but if your Distutils setup script is doing more than calling the Distutils `setup()` function, you should have a good reason. Do you have a good reason? I didn’t think so.)

The `setup()` function [can take dozens of parameters](https://docs.python.org/3.1/distutils/apiref.html#distutils.core.setup). For the sanity of everyone involved, you must use [named arguments](https://www.educative.io/courses/python-3-an-interactive-deep-dive/declaring-functions/) for every parameter. This is not merely a convention; it’s a hard requirement. Your setup script will crash if you try to call the `setup()` function with non-named arguments.

The following named arguments are required:

* **name**, the name of the package.
* **version**, the version number of the package.
* **author**, your full name.
* **author_email**, your email address.
* **url**, the home page of your project. This can be your [PyPI](https://pypi.python.org/pypi) package page if you don’t have a separate project website.

Although not required, I recommend that you also include the following in your setup script:

* **description**, a one-line summary of the project.
* **long_description**, a multi-line string in [reStructuredText format](http://docutils.sourceforge.net/rst.html). [PyPI](https://pypi.python.org/pypi) converts this to html and displays it on your package page.
* **classifiers**, a list of specially-formatted strings described in the next section.

>*Setup script metadata is defined in [PEP 314](https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0314/).*

Now let’s look at the `chardet` setup script. It has all of these required and recommended parameters, plus one I haven’t mentioned yet: `packages`.

Your First Python Program

Native Datatypes

Comprehensions

Strings

Regular Expressions

Closures & Generators

Classes & Iterators

Advanced Iterators

Unit Testing

Refactoring

Files

XML

Serializing Python Objects

HTTP Web Services

Case Study: Porting chardet to Python 3

Packaging Python Libraries

Appendix : Where To Go From Here

Writing Your Setup Script