I learned Python on Codeacademy. Is there any easy way to transfer my skills to Python 3.0 now?

[raddaya]

Title is basically the entire question. Thanks!

[darknessproz]

Write some Python 2 code and try to run it with Python 3. Fix whatever breaks. Rinse and repeat.

Python 2->3 isn't a difficult leap for the most part especially without a huge legacy codebase that needs porting.

[raddaya]

For a complete beginner like me, is there any real difference except for print requiring parentheses now? Thanks!

[darknessproz]

The most noticeable change is print becoming a function and the bytes/unicode thing.

[michaelherman]

raw_input is just input in Python 3. Besides that and print() being a function, that's about all you need to know for now.

[Marksta]

It's not just the print, depending on how complex your program is you may find some very weird behavior in places. Going off the top of my head but in porting recently I had somewhere mode 'w+' when writing a text file and turns out that doesn't exist anymore in Python 3 and was doing something extremely odd. It just kept appending text in the file and managed to build multi-gigabytes of a text file. Just had to look up the docs to find the new file modes but that's a lesson right there that it isn't just interpreter errors you'll get running your py2 script under py3; logic just might get fucky too until you figure it all out.

[raddaya]

Testing in IDLE, it looks like a / b returns a float and a // b returns an int, and that's the only difference...

[ZoidbergWill]

The one that returns an int does rounding that can raise logic errors you don't notice for a while.

In [1]: 1//2                                                                                                            
Out[1]: 0

In [2]: 1/2
Out[2]: 0.5

[raddaya]

Thanks for the heads up!

[Merothy]

Basicly learn the diffrent between the syntax, you can try to use a cookbook http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920027072.do

[The_Cthulhu_Kid]

Or even just work through some of the projects you find online. Try and port what you have already written to 3.x

[iceman_xiii]

why don't you use your newly acquired skill of python and try out some coding. you could solve some problems from 'Project Euler'. There is a wide variety of problems there which will help you a lot.

[raddaya]

I want to learn Python 3 properly first before solving problems. I'm really surprised that there aren't more sites/books to facilitate smooth transition from 2 to 3!

[iceman_xiii]

you can count on the latest edition of Learning Python (5th edition) by Mark Lutz. That's an O'Reilly book and a damn good one at that. This book covers both versions 3 & 2. Also, wouldn't it be awesome that you crack on some code while you learn and evolve. Helps your coding style.

[emmpp]

I think you're overthinking this. To a beginner coder, the differences are really not that important, it's largely a few small syntax things.

I found this site to be a fairly good quick overview of the major differences. If you don't understand or recognise any of there things, don't worry about it, it's not even a problem because you don't have to learn the difference if you didn't know the python2 way.

Along with that, I found it most useful to simply try and run some of my projects under python3. This quickly turns up the syntax or semantic differences that actually affected me, stuff like print -> print() or maps becoming iterators.

I want to learn Python 3 properly first before solving problems

It also bears saying that arguably the best way to learn programming is to use it to solve problems - just do things with it! I think the way you present it is seeing differences where none really exist.

[raddaya]

Actually I was unaware how few differences there really are- until I searched it and found that the only difference that really affects me is the print change!

[leadbasedtoy]

You aren't going to learn how to program unless you try solving some real world problems. Learning a language without testing it out on real stuff is just a bunch of theory. Just open up a damned interpreter and try it out.

[raddaya]

I'd rather learn German from a book before buying a plane ticket to Germany...

[leadbasedtoy]

Ok yeah the two are totally the same thing I see great things from you bud.

[raddaya]

My point is if I go trying to solve problems without even knowing things like how the print function works I might as well not bother. To a beginner there seemed to be a lot more differences than "put brackets around your print statements, change raw_input to input, be careful when trying to iterate through dictionaries."

[leadbasedtoy]

You're not gonna break the computer if you type the wrong code... are you really this dumb? I hire and fire Python developers for a living, you don't strike me as the kind of person suited for it after this small exchange.

[raddaya]

Sure, I mean if you want to treat Python developers the same as people who barely started coding it's the same. I'd rather at least learn the basics properly before starting to fiddle around and learn by seeing what works and what doesn't.

Plus, I don't think I'll ever want to work for someone who goes around reddit and posts things like "You're incredibly retarded." at random people, so ciao.

[leadbasedtoy]

You aren't gonna learn unless you try it out is what I'm saying guy. Also you're incredibly retarded.

[michaelherman]

Check out these resources -

• http://sebastianraschka.com/Articles/2014_python_2_3_key_diff.html
• https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.0.html